Unique Holiday Gifts While On a Budget

During my college days of poverty, I had very little money to work with. Instead of not giving any gifts to family members I had to become creative. Hopefully anyone who reads this can get some ideas or formulate their own.

For the pack rat in your family. A pack rat, someone who accumulates junk. I have one in my family. As a Christmas gift, I decided that I would clean her room and give it a new paint job. This took about a week to clean out the one closet and place two coats of paint.

Cost:
Paint (1 gallon) about $32.00 (brought from Lowe's home improvement)
Trash bags free

A gift for my one year old cousin. I brought a stool, painted it with multiple colors, and placed a dog figurine on it (she liked dogs). I used stencils to place her name on the stool. The stool was pre-built, brought a paint kit, and dog figurine. She can use this for years to come as a sitting tool or a foot stool.

Cost:
Stool, $13.00 (A.C. Moore)
Stamp and Paint kit (A.C Moore), $16.00

For people who love play the lottery.You could buy them lottery tickets. The amount depends on you. Maybe this is cheap but it could reap a big reward. You buy the tickets at any convenient store. You have to be at least 18 years of age to buy tickets. You never know if they hit it big, they could give you some of the winnings.
Cost: Whatever amount you would like to spend

If you know a coffee or tea lover. It is the gift that keeps on giving. Go to your neighborhood food store. Buy the specific brand the recipient enjoys. Buy a pound of coffee or variety of to teas.
Cost: Depends on what store you shop at, possibly under $15

The best gift of all would be to donate money in the persons name. There are many charitable groups that you could do this with. You may want to choose a place that has personal significance to the recipient. For example, if they love museums, donate to a particular museum event. I think in order to provide this gift you really have to have a good relationship with the recipient otherwise it will not be much of a gift.
Cost: Whatever you decide

I hope this helps in your budget gift ideas. Here are some websites below to.

www.acmoore.com
www.lowes.com