Now that Christmas is over and all the Christmas gifts have been given, I can share my favorite frugal gift I received this year along with all my favorite frugal Christmas gift ideas!

Christmas has wrecked many budgets and it’s a particularly hard time for some people to say no to spending. With emotions high and sales pressure up, many of us spend more than we planned. That’s why having frugal Christmas gifts on hand and ready to go is so important!

Frugal Christmas Gift Ideas

If you’re doing your Christmas shopping and need a list of frugal but awesome gift ideas, look no further!

1. Baked goods. Everyone loves baked goods during the holiday season so this is a frugal gift that is also a crowd-pleaser. You can make Christmas cookies or banana bread or any number of yummy edible gifts for very little money.
2. Scrapbook. Make a scrapbook showing your most fond memories with someone. You can do this very cheaply with supplies you have around or can get on clearance at craft stores. Print out some photos and it’s very frugal but meaningful.
3. Handmade Christmas ornaments.  You can make personalized Christmas ornaments for your friends and family for next to nothing. There are tons of great ideas on YouTube and Pinterest!
4. Regifted items. Let’s be real, regifting is a great way to do frugal Christmas gifts! If you’ve gotten duplicate gifts or items you’ll never use then there is nothing wrong with giving it away the next Christmas. Make sure you don’t regift to the same person, but otherwise it’s fair game. Just because you can’t use it doesn’t mean someone else won’t!
5. Recipe box. You can make a beautiful recipe box or buy an affordable one, and fill it with blank recipe cards along with your favorite recipes. Go the extra mile and make one of the meals to go along with it!
6. Photo Collage. If you’re handy with Photoshop or Canva, you can create a photo collage/montage, print it out and frame it! You could also do this the old fashioned way with scissors and glue. It’s a great way to give a creative memory.
7. Framed family picture. Take a picture of your family or kiddos, frame it, and give it as a gift! We do this every year for grandparents and they love it! It’s frugal but delightful for those who want photos renewed each year.
8. Coupon Books. Sure it’s a corny gift idea, but a personalized coupon book can also be super fun! You can go with classic  favorite coupons as “back rub”, “dinner” or “clean the house”. Or spice things up with adult themed coupons or go super silly with practical jokes.
9. Family history. Put together a family history for someone with photos, written family histories, a family tree, a video and anything else you can think of that will bring their family history alive. This is an especially great gift you can give to siblings or a whole side of a family.
10. Appreciation book. Use a blank journal to create a book about how much you appreciate the person! You can fill it up with reasons why you appreciate them, gratitude over their qualities, shared memories, and photos. If you can’t fill up a book, try doing this in a letter form.
11. Your skills. Give the gift of service by offering up your skills as a gift. It won’t cost you anything but time. You can offer to cook a meal or offer your design services or tech support. If you don’t have any specific professional skills to offer, then offer up housesitting or babysitting.
12. Groupon experience. Groupon offers frugal experiences perfect for gift giving. You can give a certificate for an experience like a massage, painting lesson, or outdoor adventure.
13. Card game kit. Buy a deck of cards, and a book of card game rules for different card games. You can have hours and hours of frugal fun once you learn multiple games you can play with one deck of cards.
14. Book gift pack.  Look through the books on your own shelf that you’ve already read and put together a gift pack of books that you loved. Write a note about why you loved each book and why you think the recipient will love the book as well.
15. Breakfast gift box. Put together a cute morning breakfast gift basket with some cheap basics: pancake mix, syrup, and pancake mix-ins.
16. Picnic gift basket. Grab some Dollar Tree utensils, plates, and tablecloth and then wrap the items up with a blanket inside a basket. Write a note inviting the recipient to go on a picnic lunch with you once the weather is nice.
17. Memory jar. Write down favorite memories of the person receiving the gift on small pieces of paper and add them to a decorated jar with instructions to open daily. This works best when you can get lots of sweet and funny memories!
18. DIY Coasters. You can make coasters for a very small amount of money and the personalization of using photos special to the recipient makes this a meaningful gift. DIY coasters are very easy to make!
19. DIY bath and body items. You can make sugar scrubs and face masks and body butters and natural skin care products from items you already likely have in your home like sugar and coconut oil. These are cheap to make but feel luxurious when you get to use them, so they make perfect gifts!
20. Change jar savings kit.  This is an especially great gift for young children who are just starting to learn about money. Give a child a change jar or cool piggy bank and some starter change already in it.  Then you can teach them about saving and spending their own money later in the year!

My Favorite Christmas Present

This year I got a ton of great Christmas presents that I am already using and loving. But one person gave me something a little different that I really enjoyed. What was it?

A gift card to Bed, Bath, & Beyond…. with coupons.

My favorite part of the gift was obviously the coupons. I thought that was pretty awesome that she had cut out and collected the 20% off coupons for people to have to use with their gift card. And since the coupons never expire, I now have 5 coupons to use in the future if I want to buy something specific from Bed, Bath, & Beyond.

As you know I’m a frugal person (at least, I try to be), and I wanted a frugal Christmas this year. Getting a gift that reinforced that in my mind made me incredibly happy. A gift card might not be a frugal gift, but the overall package definitely was since cutting coupons out if completely free. It is also something I will be frugal with when I use it!

I know some people wouldn’t enjoy this gift but I thought it was incredibly thoughtful! If you are going to give a gift card you might as well throw in some coupons too! Getting a deal is half the fun when shopping!

What I Plan To Buy With My Christmas Gift

Another reason why I liked this gift is because I don’t normally shop at Bed, Bath, & Beyond. I know a lot of people love it and shop there often, but it’s never been one of my stores. I’m much more likely to go to Target or another store. Or just buy things on Amazon where I purchase 75% of my stuff, thanks to gift cards from Swagbucks.

My plan is to buy K-cups for my Keurig with the gift card and awesome coupons. However, I’m open to the idea of purchasing something else if I go to the store and see something amazing that’s on sale. I am open to different options and plan to browse. Since it’s a store I rarely go to there might be something there that I really want! One of my other presents was purchased there and I looooove it too, so who knows what I will find!

More Christmas Goodness

In case you missed any of my Christmas related posts, feel free to go back and enjoy them!

• Christmas Gift Ideas Under $10
• Christmas Gift Ideas To Teach Kids About Money
• Frugal Christmas Traditions
• How To Budget & Save For Christmas

I’m already planning for a frugal Christmas next year because I’m buying 50% off Christmas wrapping paper and decorations today. It’s a fun day to go shopping since everything is on sale but it’s not as busy as Black Friday. I’m happy to get what I want at a much better price and then store it until I need it later. It’s nice to have an attic finally!