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EVERY year I battle through crowds in my lunch hour to do my Christmas shopping. Apart from the stress and the expense, there is the worry about finding the right present.
I usually buy gift tokens for the teenage members of my family because what can you buy a young person that won’t necessitate a sharp dig in their ribs and a hissed, "say thank you to Auntie” from their mum?
Not that any of the teenagers in my family resemble Harry Enfield’s monstrous creations Kevin and Perry. They are all perfectly pleasant kids who treat this aunt with bemused tolerance... but their tastes change faster than my better half downs a pint (and that’s Guinness Book of Records standard, I can assure you).
It seems like only yesterday I was buying Lego sets and outfits for Barbie. Now I don't know from one day to the next what's "coo-el" and what isn't. I try to engage them in conversation about a band that yesterday was "totally awesome". Today, any mention of the band's name and eyes roll back into heads as if I had suggested they might quite like to listen to my Vera Lynn’s Greatest Hits album.
So gift tokens it is. I don’t want to be like one aunt in the family who bought Dinky toys for her 15-year-old nephew. I remember wondering how she could do such a thing – now I know. He may be six-foot tall with a six o' clock shadow but in my head he's still that little boy banging nails into a felt-covered pad with a wooden hammer.
Gift tokens apart, I am this year determined to cut my Christmas spending to a minimum. I don’t mind shelling out on my nearest and dearest - I might be frugal but I'm not Scrooge's meaner sister - but I don’t want to get them something that will be shoved in the back of a cupboard and forgotten about.
The following are all presents that should cost under £10. Wrap them or package them imaginatively and they will look twice the price.
1. If you are good at writing, buy a cheap cuddly toy and write a personalised story to go with it.
2. An unusual mug filled with chocolates, sweets or nuts. Or you can be really imaginative and tailor it to the recipient’s interests – nails and screws for a DIY fan, fruit teabags for a tea conoisseur or oil paints for an artist, for example.
3. Mini hamper or serving dish filled with unusual food items.
4. A plant pot filled with gardening items like seeds and plant food.
5. A stationery set. Find the cheapest items you can – ballpoint pens, sticky notes, paper, notebook and put them in a pretty stationery box.
6. A bathroom set with scented soap, a sponge, shampoo, flannel etc.
7. Assemble a sewing set.
8. Basket filled with jams, chutneys and pickles (even cheaper if you’ve made them yourself)
9. A pack of cards and book of card games.
10. Nail polish kit with cotton wool buds, selection of varnishes and remover.
A great idea for the person, or family, who has everything is to buy a charity gift for the developing world in their name. World Vision has a great selection for under £10, including fruit trees, chickens, school textbooks, blankets and mosquito nets.
All you have to do is to pay for the gift online and it will go winging its way to a needy person. A card is sent to the person in whose name the item has been sent.
Do you have any ideas for cheap Christmas gifts? Email me by clicking here
