You don’t need to empty your wallet to give a gift that is thoughtful, practical and cherished by the recipient. The key to thoughtful gift-giving is understanding the person you’re gifting and focusing on something special and unique, just for them. Don’t overthink it! When you spend serious dosh on a gift, you can end up putting a lot of pressure on yourself and your finances. So, our team have come together to bring you our tips on how to be a thoughtful gifter on a budget.

DIY! Do it Yourself

Everyone loves a homemade gift! When a gift is homemade, it carries sentimental value which gives it a special touch. This option is especially great if you're super creative, but even if you’re not, give it a go! Grab your arts and crafts box or head to your local crafts store and put together a dry flower bouquet or embroider a hand towel. Not everyone is gifted with creativity (ahem, me), but anyone can put together a personalised photo album – thank social media for providing the easiest way to collate snaps! Or just embrace the idea of "DIY" and hand write a beautiful letter and create a personalised card. Here at Save My Bacon, we’re always looking for a reason to laugh, so we love gifting humorous presents. My personal favourite is a photo mug – think of all of the embarrassing birthday photos you have saved of your best friend, now imagine drinking your morning cup of coffee with one of these photos plastered on your cup… what a way to start the day, right?

One of our favourite trends has been the DIY squiggly mirror. Check out this detailed tutorial and let us know if you give it a go.

Regardless of the price, the most important thing is that your friends and family know you have put time and energy into their gift so they can treasure it forever.

Invest in experiences

Affordable and thoughtful gifts don't necessarily have to be objects! To save on expenses and, at the same time, provide a different unforgettable experience, why not explore options such as a picnic or a special afternoon in a new outdoor location? If you’re looking for inspiration, check out our blogs on Fantastic Free Things to do in Auckland, Buller & Nelson or 15 Free Things to do Around NZ Over Christmas and Summer. Experiences like a relaxing massage (given by you!) or a road trip, for example, are unforgettable. Be creative! Maybe you have a friend that is living away from family, you could record a video with messages from all of their loved ones! To present your experience as a gift, try making a homemade coupon, experience ticket or jar with different experiences to choose from throughout the year. This way, they will still have something tangible to unwrap (which we all know is half of the fun). The added bonus of gifting experiences is you can go too! There is no better gift than time together with your favourite people. 

Collective gift giving

During school when all of us were short on change, our friend group would come together to buy one gift for each friend on birthdays. This results in many different group chats with a portfolio of different members in each one, and the demand to be extra careful which group chat you’re replying to so that you don’t spoil the surprise (you don’t want to be that guy..). The bonus of this is not only do you save money, but you have more people who all know the person well, so the gift is more likely to be well thought out and sentimental.

For Christmas gifting, secret Santa is the way to go about collective gift giving. You’ll save everyone time and energy, and it makes it more like a game! One of the teams favourite Christmas gifting game was playing switch, steal, and unwrap.

The key to collective gift-giving is setting a budget early on. For group gifting, set an amount each person agrees to contribute. For secret Santa, agree on the maximum price of each present. 

Another option is to choose your recipient's gift with the recipient. Now, this one is for those who you know don’t like surprises. They can pick something just right for them, and you know they’ll love and use the gift!

Unique surprises

To make the day even more special, you can start the day by surprising the one you love! Prepare their favourite breakfast, bake their favourite cake and give them their most loved flowers. Pretty presentation is the key to making this gift idea really take off! Arrange your gift in a beautiful basket or tray with flowers and fruits. Breakfast in bed? Take the opportunity to include a special handwritten note written with a heartfelt message.  

Sign up for sites to receive promotions

If you have an idea already about the gift you want to give, sign up to receive newsletters and promotion alerts from the sites that sell this product. You can stay on top of all the brands’ offers in advance and can take advantage of the best promotions to guarantee a cheaper option for the gift they’ll love.

You can also look at adding discount extensions to your browser, such as Honey, which checks to see if any discounts are available at the time you want to purchase the product.

Did you enjoy these tips to give great affordable gifts? Save and share if so! Or send us a wee message, we'd love to know what you think.