If you're a last-minute shopper during the holiday season, you've no doubt fallen victim to sky-high prices of gift items. During the holidays, it's a well-known fact that department stores and shop owners hike up their prices to take advantage of the high demand.
If you want to save more money on items that aren't that expensive in the first place, consider shopping off-season, particularly just after the holidays. During this time, prices go back to normal; many even go on sale, because the demand has passed and marketers still want to rake in profit. If you buy off-season, you can take advantage of all-time low prices and save more money for your budget.
The apparent downside of this is you’ll be shopping for holiday gifts as early as January. If it's unthinkable for you to do your holiday shopping in January, then you don’t have to shop for that sole reason. You can purchase items that can double as birthday gifts for friends and family, and you can even buy essential items you can use yourself.
However, if you think about it, shopping for holiday gifts in January and in the other early months of the year is actually convenient for both your time and budget. As long as you don’t plan on giving food items, you can start your holiday shopping as early as you want it to be. You don’t have to jostle with other last-minute shoppers. You don’t have to feel time-pressured. And the best thing is you also don’t have to feel the pain of having a sizable chunk cut off from your budget. You can just store the items in your closest and bring them out when the next holiday comes. You can simply sit back and enjoy wrapping the gifts while everyone else is stressfully running about in shops.
Gifts from the Heart
In giving gifts, it's the thought that counts. Yes, it is a cliché, but clichés exist because they are true. So the next time you need to give someone a gift, why not make one instead? A homemade gift tells the recipient that he is special enough for you to take the time to make something especially for him. It is also a budget-friendly alternative to the usual gift items that can be bought from the shops. Both you and your recipient will be happy, and isn't that what gift giving is all about?
If you're at a loss with what to make, look around for materials around your house and use your imagination and skills to create something out of them. If your talent lies in the kitchen, bake some cookies and use as container a jar that you'll surely find somewhere in your house. Steam off the label from the jar and use a square of pretty fabric as a lid, with a ribbon to tie it in place. Aside from cookies, you can also make candies, fruit preserves, and even sauces. If your culinary skills leave something to be desired, you can buy goodies from the nearest bakery and put them in the jar. The result will still be less expensive compared to pre-packaged food items you can get from the market.
If you're an artist, you can create a memorable gift by making a framed charcoal portrait of your recipient. The portrait itself doesn’t cost a thing, while framing can be done by affordable yet quality framers in your area. If you’re into sewing and knitting, you can make your recipient everything from a scarf to a pillow.
Indeed, you have lots of options to choose from. With homemade gifts, what you can give is only limited by your imagination.
This article was compiled by the editors at SelfGrowth.com, the number one self improvement resource on the Web. For more quality self improvement content, please visit http://www.selfgrowth.com.