Being a college student gives us so much to worry about. From trying to keep up with our classes, to our social lives and jobs out of school, it’s just a never ending struggle. Thank (insert whatever higher entity you believe in here, or nothing at all if you’re an atheist) Winter break is almost here.
Now let’s add on the pressure of finding the perfect (or at the very least, a good enough) gifts to give your friends and family this Christmas holiday season. If that’s not enough , add on having not enough money to cover it due to the amount of people or the fees you have to pay for outside of it.
And so, here is a short list of ideas to keep in mind for my fellow broke college students:
1. DIY THAT SCHIST
For the craftier people out there, not only is it cheaper to diy, it’s also creative. Plus, for these kind of gifts, the effort is what counts the most! Some of these gifts are:
a) An Explosion Box:
Requires paper, glue, scissors, and a lot of pictures. You could make one for your friend or significant other, and fill it with memento of the best memories you had with them this year. Check out these 2 videos for instructions on how to make an explosion box:
Hexagon Explosion Box Tutorial
b) Decorated mason jar with goodies
herpetologistleague.com
This requires you to paint and decorate a mason jar and fill it up with some objects that you know would be used by your recipient. It could be filled with travel sized hand cream, hand sanitizer, and lip balm, to name a few. You could also opt to write letters in mini scrolls of paper and mini rose origamis instead of filling it with goodies.
2. BUY DURING BLACK FRIDAY/CYBER MONDAY
It’s a little too late for this, but as a reminder for next year, buy during the Black Friday or cyber Monday sales events. If the person you are getting a gift for has repeatedly mentioned an activity they recently are interested in, find a gift pertaining to that activity during sales events. You can get expensive gifts at a cheaper price. This year, I got my brother some boxing gloves during the cyber Monday sale for half the original price. Isn’t that neat?
3. COOK OR BAKE FOR THEM
This gift idea is for those who love cooking or baking.
You could either offer to serve them your specialty dishes for dinner (think: giving them a ‘coupon’ for a 3 course meal) or bake your specialty dessert placed inside a decorated box.
This is just a short list of ideas this gift-giving season. Do you have an idea for a frugal presents this gift-giving season?
