Ways to Save Money on Christmas Gifts

Most of us are finding ways to cut back this Christmas due to the recession and unemployment rate. However, just because the economy is bleak doesn't mean your Christmas should be. Here is a list of ideas for great gifts that won't break the bank.

Make your own gift certificates for kind acts. You can make them for anyone and just about anything. These are great for that hard to shop for person. You can make them on the computer on colored sheets of paper with acts such as free house cleaning, doing laundry, a cooked meal, or free babysitting; there really is no limit to the gift certificates you can create.

If you can sew, crochet or knit, you can make a significant amount of gifts. If you have the time and the ability to do so, use your skills to save you some money.

Gift cards are still an acceptable gift; you can keep track of what you spend while giving the recipient the option to buy what they want. To add a personal touch you can make a personalized card, or if you aren't crafty now you can even buy cards with a handmade flair.

Around the holidays many retailers offer additional gift cards if you purchase a specified amount, this can be a free gift to you if you plan on purchasing multiple cards from one retailer, and you may just end up with enough free cards to buy yourself a meal or give as a gift.

Take up baking for the holidays. This year I plan on baking an assortment of breads and cookies which are items that have a long shelf life when frozen. You can even make batches of cookie dough, freeze it and provide instructions for thawing and baking for the recipient. This is a gift that can continue to give throughout the year.

Make gift baskets or boxes for family and friends for considerably less than sold for at retailers. For ideas, go to local retailers that sell packaged or gift baskets for the holidays, find inspiration for your own creations. There are many items you can place in the baskets, anything from food to handmade blankets, potholders, handmade art or jewelry, the possibilities are endless.

The first thing in creating a gift basket is to pick a theme for the basket, food, reading, chocolate, music, movies and so many other themes are possible. For baskets with food you can bake breads, cookies, and other treats. For a basket for a movie lover you can make a basket with a movie gift cards, bags of popcorn, and possibly even magazines or other movie related items. Many of these items can be purchased for significantly less than if you were to purchase a pre -assembled basket. This way the basket or box can have a personalized touch because you picked out each of the items; it will be well received and enjoyed.

You can purchase baskets or tins or decorative boxes for relatively cheap from retailer like the dollar or discount stores. You will also need to find filler; shredded paper is sold at most retailers or craft stores. You can also make your own filler by running construction paper through a paper shredder. This is far cheaper than buying the bagged shredded paper. Once you have compiled all of the items you want to place in your gift basket you will wrap it with a clear plastic bag which can be purchased at craft stores, discount and dollar stores to close up the basket. You will need to add a bow or curled ribbon to close up the bag. You may also want to trim the bag with scissors.

Limit the amount of gifts you are responsible for purchasing, this of course sounds easier than it is. For those of us who have large or extended families you should seek out ways to do a secret Santa or gift exchange instead of being responsible for buying for everyone in the family. Many families take advantage of drawing names; everyone takes one name of a family member. Then to keep the process secretive, the family members send out emails to everyone in the family with items that they want for Christmas. This way it remains a secret of who drew whose name until after the gift exchange.

There are so many ways that you can be creative and give a wonderful gift while saving money for the holidays that there is no reason you can't find or create the perfect gift for that someone special.