As Christmas approaches, I wanted to share some ideas for inexpensive and low-stress gift giving. Being chronically ill often means you’re watching your budget and conserving energy, so spending a lot of time and money hunting for gifts is not a great idea. The point is to let those you love know you are thinking of them and care about them, and a simple, well-chosen gift can do that perfectly! So I’ve rounded up ideas that are low cost, or easily made without using up all your energy.

The best way I’ve found to give meaningful gifts is to make sure I’m gifting something in someone’s love language. If you’ve never read The Five Love Languages, I highly recommend it! (I read the original, but there is a singles edition, and other versions available too.) The book breaks down the way people best receive love into five categories: Words of Affirmation, Acts of Service, Receiving Gifts, Quality Time, and Physical Touch.

My default way to show love is through gift-giving, so in years past I’ve created a lot of stress for myself by thinking I have to find the *perfect* gift.

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I love making and giving gifts, but I became focused on the gift and not the person I was gifting. I’m finally learning to take the pressure off myself and realize that any thoughtful gift is the perfect gift.

You can ask those on your Christmas list their love language; this often leads to an interesting discussion and the chance to get to know someone better! If you know someone well, you can also probably guess their #1 love language and gift accordingly.

I know I love when I receive simple handmade gifts that come from the heart, and those you will love will appreciate your thoughtfulness too.

I’ve tried to include a mix of gifts that speak to the Five Love Languages.

Gift Ideas

Bake Cookies

These can be made well in advance so you don’t have to use your energy up on the day of a gathering. Bake and freeze, and then take out shortly before you leave your house.

Be sure to consider any food allergies and take them into account. I know I really appreciate it when someone goes the extra mile to bake for me, considering all my allergies! It makes the gift of food extra special.

Knit or Crochet

Yarn is pretty inexpensive if you buy it with a craft store coupon. (My favorite yarn to work with is soft, organic cotton. Partially ’cause I’m allergic to wool!)

Here is a video tutorial about crocheting an infinity scarf, which is how I learned to crochet. This instructor makes it easy and fun.

Help Wrap Gifts

Some people hate wrapping gifts—I happen to love it! You could ask your friend to bring the gifts and wrapping paper to your house to save you a trip and energy.

Help Decorate

I enjoy going to my grandma’s house and helping her put her decorations on her tree. It helps her out, and we get to spend one-on-one time together.

Help with Other Christmas Tasks

Not into decorating or wrapping gifts? Think of other small tasks you could help with.

Like addressing and stamping Christmas letters. You can even do what my mom does to help my grandma—you can print out labels for addresses and return addresses so she doesn’t have to hand-letter each envelope.

Or help with tasks that aren’t holiday-related. For instance, maybe you love to help people organize things (I know I do!).

Collect Recipes

Maybe you have some holiday (and yearround!) favorites that you’re known for. Or, you could become like the family recipe historian, and ask everyone to send you their favorite recipes. You can find free recipe card printables on Pinterest for gifting, or consider making little booklets or binders gathering all your family’s favorites in one place.

Create Stationary

You can find hoards of free printables on Pinterest to make notecards and stationary. (Check out some of the printables I pinned here.) All it takes is the cost of ink, paper, and, if you wish, envelopes. Handmade monogram sets are a great personalized touch. Or, use stamps, stickers or other scrapbooking supplies to hand-make sets of cards. Tie them up with cute ribbon for an attractive presentation.

Share Photos

I print out photos highlighting events and paste them into scrapbook pages for my grandparents each year. This is a pretty easy way to record and share memories. I bought these photo books that make it easy to add new pages each Christmas. The tabbed pages work well for writing the year on.

Share a Mix Tape

Or rather, mix CDs. I love discovering new music, especially when someone takes the time to find music that fits my taste. Type up the list of songs/artists and include a brief sentence about why you think they’ll like each song.

Make a Homemade Gift

Check out my posts on how to make painted canning jar decorations and reversible wood blocks. I also have a lot of craft ideas on Pinterest, including easy Christmas crafts like ornaments.

Host a Mini Get Together

Maybe its just the two of you, snacking on popcorn and watching a movie—this doesn’t have to be anything fancy. Your friends no doubt understand your limited energy, and will appreciate the opportunity to do something low key. If your friend’s love language is touch, curl up on the couch together. You can also save money by renting a movie from your local library for free.

Pass Along a Book

Share a book you’ve finished reading. If you’re sharing a used book, please be sure to consider your giftees allergies. I unfortunately can’t buy used books because of my strong allergies to pets, cigerette smoke, and fragrances, but if its a book that a friend bought new and then passed along to me, I’m totally fine.

Handmake a bookmark to tuck inside for an extra surprise!

Write Something

For instance, I like writing poems as gifts. But you don’t have to be a poet to write something meaningful. Make a list of your favorite things about a person. You can type it and frame it, or handletter it on cute paper.

Or make a list of favorite quotes or Bible verses. Tuck them into a cute container so they can pull them out for encouragement whenever they like.

Regift

Hey, I’m totally okay with this! Regifting can be done in a very thoughtful way. Instead of tossing something out, regifting allows you to save money you would have spent and allows the item to get a “second life” of sorts with someone who will enjoy it. If someone gives me something that’s not a good fit for me, I think of it as them doing some shopping for me to help me with my gift-giving. Just make sure your name isn’t written in or on the gift!

Give of Yourself

Sometimes I forget that I don’t only need to take care of myself for my own sake, but for the sake of those I love. I know my family and friends want to spend time with me, and I want to make sure I’m at my best when we celebrate together. Maybe part of the gift you need to work on this holiday season is taking care of yourself so that you can be as present and healthy as possible when you’re with those you love. That’s a far better gift than you running around exhausting yourself while trying to find the elusive “perfect” gift!

 

Maybe the gift you need to work on this holiday season is taking care of yourself so that you can be as present and healthy as possible.

 

I hope these ideas hel p you get started, and help take the pressure off of gift-giving!

Which ideas do you like best? What easy, budget-friendly ideas would you add to this list?