Frugal But Fantastic Gifts to Take to Holiday Parties
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Tis the season . . . to be invited to a shit ton of holiday parties. Friend’s parties, office parties, coworker’s parties, it seems it’s never ending. And you want to be a good guest you want to bring them something to thank them for inviting you. However, you also don’t want to spend a ton of freaking money because hello, there’s a lot of parties and that would add up fast. So here are some frugal holiday gift ideas that are great for giving holiday party hosts.
Wine
This blog is called Less Debt, More Wine, you knew I was going to suggest wine right? And it doesn’t have to be super pricey wine either. I love cheap wine, there’s some really good cheap wine out there. I find that Chilean wine tends to be pretty cheap but also super delicious. Though I could be biased because I did study abroad in Chile.
Beer
On that note beer would also work, a six pack is always appreciated. However, then you’re getting upwards of $10.00 a pack at least for anything that’s decent. So it just depends on how much you want to spend and the party you are going to.
The downside with doing beer over wine, is that most people know how good different beers are but a lot of people because they’re so much wine don’t recognize the wine as being cheap. Whereas if you bring Bud Light or Yuengling to a party, people know that’s cheap beer. Not that it won’t be just as appreciated, but if you care about people knowing how much you spent, it’s something to keep in mind.
Baked Goods
Baked goods also make for a great hostess gift. Personally I do some holiday baking every year and so I just put together a plate of the goodes for the parties I’m going to go to. Now if you’re doing a lot of baking that can add up, so maybe only pick two or three things max of what you’re making. If you want to dress up the baked goods, you could buy a holiday tin from a craft store or dollar store for $1 and store the baked goods in there to give. It just looks a little nicer and as if you put in a little more effort, while only costing a dollar more.
Personalized Glasses (Etched)
If you want to get even more crafty you can personalize some glasses pretty cheaply. Get the bottle of etching cream for about $10 bucks and you can use it for multiple glasses so for multiple gifts. Pick up a couple of stencils or make some stencils yourself using vinyl tape and you’re on your way.
The glasses can usually be found pretty inexpensively, at a dollar store or thrift store. Alternatively you could buy a set, and split them up. A gift of two personalized wine glasses can be really nice. Ultimately, taking a little time to personalize some glasses, makes it look like a really fancy gift even though it’s really super frugal.
Bottle Openers (wine and beer)
Bottle openers are always getting misplaced or lost. So an extra bottle opener, especially at a holiday party is always appreciated. Be it a wine bottle opener/corkscrew or just one for beer, either way you can’t go wrong with this frugal gift. Just be sure to dress it up with a bow. 😉
Non-Baked Goods
All the charm of baked goods but without half the work. What you do is you put together all the dry ingredients for recipe and you give them those ingredients in a cute jar, along with the recipe. That’s it, easy peasy, it’s adorable, it’s appreciated, and doesn’t require you to actually bake anything.
Spa Goodies
Now they sound like they might be expensive gifts but you can actually DIY them pretty inexpensively at home.
Bath salts are especially cheap and easy because the main ingredient is Epsom salts. You can mix the epsom salt with a sent/essential oil and bam, done. For a more detailed tutorial, head over to Beautylist.
DIY Bath Bomb Tutorial via One Good Thing
DIY Body Butter via Living the Nourished Life
Make all these gifts look good with some jars and voila! A frugal, but still fancy gift.
Mug Candles
These are also another easy cute gift. Pick up some cute mugs from a thrift store or dollar store and then grab some wax and wicks, I used a kit that cost me around $12. That is all you need to make these quick and easy candles that are adorable and super frugal.
Wrapping it up with a bow on top
No matter which of these frugal gift options you choose, they are sure to save you some money. A thoughtful homemade DIY or just something inexpensive that looks nice can be the hit of the party. I hope you have a wonderful holiday season and a great time at all the holiday parties you are invited to, I’m sure your host will love these frugal holiday gifts.
Related: Frugal Last Minute Guide to Decorating and Gifting
