With the recession hitting the economy has hard as it has recently, there are a few people who are wondering how they can ever buy gifts for all of the people like they did in the previous years. No longer can we spend extravagant amounts of money on gifts that don’t really mean anything. We have made gift-giving so commercial that anything less then an iPod or a PS3 means that the gift is almost worthless. So, we have decided to give you a few shopping tips for when you need to buy gifts on a budget that still have great value and will bring a smile to the person receiving the gift.
Before you actually go shopping for that specific person or persons (if you’re doing this around Christmas time) sit down and make a list of things that you know the person enjoys. It can be as simple as going for a walk or creating a puzzle, playing games or volunteering at the animal shelter. Try and think out of the box, don’t put down the general things people enjoy doing like watching movies, listening to music… Those are the least meaningful gifts that a person can receive.
So now that you’ve listed all the activities on your sheet of paper, next to it, list gift ideas that can go with the particular activity. Let’s take for example “Going on a walk”. It might be as simple as that but why wouldn’t you give them a new pair of running shoes or a gift voucher for a spa treatment for your feet. Another innovative idea is to buy them a map of their surrounding areas and jot down all the best walks, with pictures and why they should go walking or jogging in that specific route. You are limited only by your creativeness.
So now you’ve jotted down a few gift ideas for your friend, you’re feeling proud of yourself – but, realistically, where do you go next? On the top of the page you have just been using, write in big red letters what you want to budget for that person or, alternatively, on the specific group of people. So let’s say, for our running buddy, we’ve decided to spend $50. I’ll go online and spend a bit of time searching for awesome jogging shoes for $50 or less. Remember $50 includes the shipping costs if you’re buying your gift online.
This is probably going to be the hardest part – the actually purchasing of the gift. Once you’ve decided on the specific gift you’re looking for, being tempted to go OVER budget will be there, especially if you care about the person. However, be strong and stick to your budget amount. If you’re going shopping to a mall, take only $50 cash with you, so that you won’t be tempted to spend more.
After all, a gift doesn’t mean anything at all if you didn’t take some careful planning and effort into thinking about that specific gift. A gift that shows you put time and effort into it, is more likely to be well received then a gift that just costs a lot of money.
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Article Added on Saturday, October 24, 2009
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