With the holiday season quickly approaching, it is time to start looking for gifts for your family and friends. Although as a college student, most of us don’t have a lot of money to spend on gifts. Here are some inexpensive gift ideas you can get your friends. These ideas will work for birthdays and other occasions too!
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There are lots of creative, and inexpensive, ways to give gifts this holiday. (Photo by freestocks.org from Pexels)
Teen and college girls
- False eyelashes This is always useful for going out to dinner or just getting dressed up for the day.
2. Setting spray If she loves makeup, this is always useful. It helps the makeup to last longer and also feels refreshing on the skin.
3. Beauty blender This is very useful for putting on foundation or concealer and blending it into the skin.
4. Spiral hair ties These are super trendy and look adorable as a bracelet and are also handy as a hair tie.
5. Foot mask These will leave her feet feeling softer than ever.
6. Scrunchies These are the cutest and most comfortable hair ties.
7. Lip mask This will moisturize and condition the lips and they will be soft and not feel chapped.
8. Mario Badescu facial spray This spray works wonders to leave the skin refreshed and to get clear skin.
9. Body butter This will moisturize her skin amazingly.
10. Paint Set This is great if she loves art and painting.
11. Cute beanie This is fashion + function and available in multiple colors.
Teen and college boys
- Leather key ring This is convenient and can be attached to pants or belts.
- ELOVEN iPhone case This handy case will keep his cards inside the case and hidden while also protecting his phone.
- Versace Mini Cologne This is a perfect gift for any guy who likes cologne.
- Slides These are great for walking around the house or for using in the shower as a college student.
- Men’s SPF Face Lotion This is excellent so that he can wear sunscreen and moisturize his face all in one simple lotion.
- LED lights These are so fun to have in a bedroom and instantly make the vibe of the room more fun.
- CamelBak Water Bottle This is a simple water bottle that any guy will love.
- Funny Socks These are hilarious and are sure to get a laugh.
- Backpack This simple backpack is perfect for any college guy.
- Wallet This is an inexpensive, but good quality wallet.
- Nerf blaster Buy one for yourself too, and have an outdoor Nerf battle. You’ll have fun and get some exercise too!
Gifts for anyone that are under $15
- Ghiradelli hot chocolate mix This is a delicious gift that is perfect for the holiday season.
- Body scrub This will exfoliate the skin and make it softer and healthier.
- Mini waffle maker This is a game-changer for any college student. It is very easy and fun to make waffles with this.
- Coffee beans This is an easy gift idea for a coffee drinker and is always appreciated!
- Blue light glasses These are perfect for studying, especially because most classes have been moved online.
- Cozy blanket Anyone will love this super soft blanket, especially in the winter months.
- Burt’s Bees gift set This perfect travel kit includes Deep Cleansing Cream, Hand Salve, Body Lotion, Foot Cream & Lip Balm.
- Laptop Cover This case is perfect for protecting a laptop.
- Gloves with touchscreen finger pads These enable you to use a touchscreen while keeping your hands warm.
- Uno Who doesn’t love a game of Uno?
Homemade holiday gift ideas
- Coupon for lunch or coffee with you on a day they select.
Ingredients
- 7-1/2 cups instant chocolate drink mix
- 1 package (25.6 ounces) nonfat dry milk powder
- 2-1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1 cup powdered nondairy creamer
- 25 peppermint candies, crushed
Mix each of the ingredients together into a bowl
Divide into bags or an airtight container
To make the hot chocolate, pour ⅓ cup of the mixture into a mug and stir in hot milk
What you’ll need
- 1 cup Epsom salt
- 1 tbsp. baking soda
- 3 drops jasmine essential oil
- Wide mouth half pint mason jar
- Optional: 1–2 drops of food coloring {to slightly tint the bath salts}
Mix Epsom salt, baking soda, essential oil drops, and optional food coloring. Stir well.
Put in a jar.
Directions for the person using the bath salt: add 1/2 cup of bath salts to your bath and relax.
4. Open when…letters.
This is a super heartfelt idea and shows how much you care about the person.
You will need envelopes, a pen, and paper.
Here are some ideas for the open when to put on the envelope:
- Open when you are stressed
- Open when you are bored
- Open when you are sad
- Open when you are sick
- Open when you need a confidence boost
- Open when you need motivation
- Open when you have had a bad day
- Open when you need a smile
What you’ll need
- Paper mache cone
- Green tea bags (individually wrapped)
- Hot glue gun
- Ribbon
Start at the bottom of the cone and glue the tea bags to the paper mache cone.
Add a ribbon to the top of it.
6. Fuzzy socks stocking
This is a very easy and cute gift! Get a pair of fuzzy socks and fill them with candy, nail polish, gift cards, lip balm, and other small goodies.
6. Bath Bombs
What you’ll need
- 1 cup baking soda
- 1/2 cup citric acid
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- Food coloring
- Essential oil of your choice
- Water
Mix baking soda and cornstarch
Add essential oil a few drops at a time and mix
Add the food coloring a few drops at a time and mix
Add water half a teaspoon at a time
Keep mixing in the water until the consistency is similar to wet sand
Add the citric acid and mix
Mold into a ball and smooth the edges with a spoon
Let the bath bomb dry overnight at room temperature
What you’ll need:
- Tree ornament
- Glitter (2 tablespoons per globe)
- Clear glue (2 ounces per globe)
- Warm water (1 cup per globe)
- Mason jar
- Spoon
- Glue gun
With a glue gun, glue the ornament to the inner lid of the mason jar and set aside to dry
Add 2 oz of the clear glue into the jar
Pour 1 cup of warm water into the jar and stir
Add 2 tablespoons of glitter and stir
Take the lid with the ornament and place it face down in the jar
Close the jar and secure tightly. Add glue if needed.
What you’ll need
- 2 pieces of 1 ½ yard of fleece
- Scissors
Lay the two pieces of fleece on top of each other
Cut out a small square (about 4 inches) in each corner
Make small slits (about 3 inches) all the way around the fleece
Tie the two pieces of fleece together by tying each slit to its mirror opposite on the other piece of fleece
Do this all the way around
Mystery gift exchange/Secret Santa
Another fun idea to plan with your friend group is to do a mystery gift exchange, often called Secret Santa. Especially during COVID-19, it is easy to feel distant from others, which is why a mystery gift exchange is an excellent way to connect with your friends while still maintaining a safe social distance.
If you want to plan it on your own:
- Text your friends or acquaintances and ask who wants to participate.
- Have each person send you their home address.
- Set a budget and the date the gifts need to arrive by.
- Randomly assign each person to a different person.
- Text each person privately who they were assigned to and that person’s address.
- Set up a Zoom call for a specific date so that you all open the gifts together over Zoom and each person can take a guess of who they think got them their gift.
Alternatively you can use the website, Elfster, which is an online Secret Santa generator. All you have to do is put in the name of the event, budget for gifts, RSVP date, and the date that the gifts are being exchanged. Then, you will receive a link, and each person you invite will RSVP and it will email each person with whom they are assigned to get a gift for. This is a great website to use because you won’t know who has you and you will be surprised just like everyone else.
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