Merry Christmas Everyone! With the most wonderful time of the year upon us, many of you are scrambling to finish your Christmas shopping. Getting something perfect for everyone without going broke can be a difficult task. There is your family, your friends, your boo…not to mention co-workers, the mail man, the nanny, and everyone else you would like to give something to. Here are a few crowd-
pleasing, yet cost-effective gifts to give to all of the people in your life!
Pashminas
Anyone who knows me knows that I am a sucker for a beautiful scarf. I have quite the collection and always seem to find a reason to buy a new one! Pittsburgh’s Strip District has a wide array of street vendors carrying many gift options-one of them being pashmina-scarves! Yesterday after work I stopped by one of these vendors. Lucy’s Handmade Clothing Shop is a small store on Penn Avenue. In the store you’ll find adorable hats, gorgeous jewelry, and of course, pashminas! I stopped in to get a specific color scarf as a gift and was unable to find it. I searched the racks outside of the store on the sidewalk. No luck. I looked inside at rack after rack of scarves. Nothing.
Before admitting defeat, I asked Lucy if she had this color. She asked if I had checked upstairs.
Upstairs??
I had no idea there was an upstairs! I went up and sure enough, there was the color I sought! I also found a fabulous gray scarf and a black scarf with white chain print for myself. I love them so much and the recipient will love hers as well! The best part? These scarves were only 3 of $18. Great deal. You could get a scarf for all of your girlfriends at the office or for your nanny, your hairdresser, and your
cousin for less than $20! Thanks for the help, Lucy!
Christmas Ornaments
How can you go wrong with a beautiful ornament? Very Bradley has BEAUTIFUL ornaments that come in sets of 3 for about $30. You can divide them up and give one each to three of your friends. They also come in a three-compartment box, which would be perfect to fill with candy for your Christmas or New Year’s party, or to give to a friend. Maybe you have four friends to buy for and only three ornaments-no worries! Give the box with some chocolates to a friend. Or some trinkets for her desk at work-fill it with tea bags, sugar cubes in a gauze wrapper, and drink stirrers for a tea drinker to place on her desk. Or you could fill it with little lip glosses, nail files, and bobby pins for a co-worker who is always searching
through her purse for her things. Four friend’s gifts for around $35!
You can also go the route of handmade ornaments. My mother makes these beautiful, hand-painted ornaments that are really simple! You buy plain, glass bulb ornaments and open them up. You put paint inside of them and swirl it around. Write the year in a sparkly puffy paint on the outside. Bam. A one-of-
a-kind ornament for your dear friends. You can make a bunch of these for around $25.
Keep Warm with Coco
Head to Costco or Sams Club and get some coco and marshmallows in bulk. Buy a case of mason jars. For under $30 you can make jars of coco with gauze pouches of marshmallows for everyone in the office. Type up a cute little note about staying warm this Christmas on some colorful paper. Easy!
Do It Yourself
Anyone who doesn’t have Pinterest should cry themselves to sleep every night. The Do-it-yourself ideas on that site blow my mind, daily. With the use of some quality glue, a balloon, and an old magazine, you can create this lovely basket that I found on Pinterest.
Roll the magazine pages up into different size circles. Glue them well so that they stay put. Blow up the balloon and begin gluing the magazine circles to the balloon. Ensure that all circles are also glued to the edges of the other circles around them. Let sit for a day or two and then pop the balloon. You will be left with an adorable basket which could hold a small flower pot, artificial flowers without a pot, your mail
before or after it heads to the mail box, combs/brushes, etc. So adorable and handmade! I would LOVE to get this as a gift!
You can also give your favorite girlfriend a Do-it-yourself craft day as a gift. Go get the supplies to make a craft like the one above and pick up some snacks. Spend the day making baskets, gossiping, and snacking!
Do you have any other easy, affordable gifts you’ll be giving? Any Do It Yourself ideas?
Cheers.
