Here are some great ideas for gifts under ten dollars. It helps those of us who are on a budget or buying for a crowd. Do you like finding a deal? In this episode, we will discuss purchasing gifts under ten dollars. It isn’t as hard as you think.

Some years past, I did a podcast on various topics dealing with gift-giving, and some of these qualify for gifts under ten dollars:

• Great Gifts Kids Can Make
  
• Last Minute Christmas Gifts
  
• Best Experiential Gifts
  

It isn’t easy shopping these days, in fact it is depressing! Everything is so expensive, and now multiply that by the number of people you are buying for and it gets downright expensive. I am hosting Christmas for my sister-in-law, her three children, and their families. And that adds up to an additional 13 people to buy for this year! That is on top of my five children and nine grandchildren, plus one son-in-law. It gets expensive, to say the least.

Here is what I do to get the gift-giving budget under control. The first is to pray about what type of gifts I want to give. There are many different ways to say “I love you” and Merry Christmas. Next is to browse some stores. There are discount stores in my area, and taking a turn up and down the aisles gives me ideas. I have to remember that my extended family (well, seven of them) are flying here, so I can’t send back gifts that are going to take up too much luggage room. My son will be flying home, and that gives me pause in purchasing gifts.

So here is what I do after praying. I set alerts for the items I’d like to purchase. One way is to use an app like Honey – you can go to Join Honey here

Here you can set alerts for when a price goes lower. It works on websites as you browse, as well as on sites such as Amazon. It suggests coupons; not all of them work, but some do. It can save you money in the long run. I’ve used it for years.

1. Gift cards. If you visit restaurants frequently, you can look for gift card deals, especially around Christmas. Some offer a free ten-dollar gift card with the purchase of an additional amount. You can use that gift card as a gift.
   
2. Gift cards as credit in your credit card offers. If you are like many of us, we use credit cards that we pay off monthly. They often rack up points and that can be used for gift cards. Sometimes it is better to use the money toward your bill, but other times you can cash in those points toward credit cards for meals. You can purchase gift cards to popular restaurants with your points – so, in essence, free.
   
3. Prayer journals. I found beautiful leather journals I saw in gift catalogs for $35 and paid less than ten dollars. These are great for giving gifts under ten dollars. I did have to work at getting the gummy labels off, but it was worth the trouble. These, along with a beautiful pen, make a nice gift.
   
4. Novelty gifts are often priced at under ten dollars. These can be t-shirts, mugs, pens, or similar types of items. My kids often exchange gifts such as these with extended family.
   
5. Mugs with Christian sayings or Bible verses are often under ten dollars. I gift each of the ladies attending the meal with a mug and fresh flowers. I use them as part of the decorations on Christmas Day, and then they take the mug and flowers home. I’ve done this for Thanksgiving and Easter in the past as well.
   
6. Mixes such as muffins and cookies in decorative containers. The containers can be purchased for well under five dollars at discount stores, and the mixes are ones we make often. This qualifies for giving gifts under ten dollars.
   
7. Homemade food items such as chocolate or vanilla fudge. This is something my daughter makes for our extended family, and they love it over any store-bought gift.
   
8.  I make pumpkin bread from fresh pumpkins and give these as gifts. They are well under ten dollars and two cups of pumpkin makes about six to with small loaves.
   
9. Art supplies for the children are always fun to receive. These items are found very inexpensively at discount stores and often are of good quality.
   
10. Deal Dash – although you need to be careful if you are using this app. I saw it advertised and thought I’d take a look and did win a bid for a high-quality item for under ten dollars. If you can limit your participation to winning bonuses that works, otherwise it can not only take a chunk of your time but also your money.
    
11. If you are gifted in some way artistically, you can paint or draw a picture as a gift. I have promised my family paintings, and maybe this year, I will fulfill that promise! My skills are mediocre, but it is the thought that counts.
    
12. Vouchers: I loved it when my children gave me vouchers for a task such as washing my car or doing a “bonus” job. That was a heartfelt gift, and I enjoyed it.
    
13. Making placemats with old clothing, or hot pads.
    
14. Purchasing vintage frames from a thrift store and printing out a Bible verse or saying from Mother Teresa and framing it.
    
15. Bibles are often on sale for under ten dollars.
    
16. Puzzles are under ten dollars and so much fun.
    
17. Board games are great for giving gifts under ten dollars.
    

My daughter and her family draw names and buy for the person whose name they select. This helps to keep the cost down as well. You can also give the gift of time to each other which does not cost anything. Gift-giving does not have to be stressful, but it often is, and in this way, I hope that some of these ideas are helpful.

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