The Anti-Gift Gift Guide: Free Creative, Useful, and Meaningful Gifts Ideas

I love the holiday season. My family and I celebrate Christmas and I am so excited to gather together and spend time. 

That being said, the holidays are EXPENSIVE y'all! 

I'm all down for gifts and whatever, but what do you do if you're on a budget, are tired of handing out gift cards, have no desire to battle crowds at the mall or pay the shipping online, gifting can be a real bummer. 

Why not create a new more heartfelt tradition?

This post is just for you! The holidays don't have to break the bank and you can give gifts that really make an impact. With a little creativity and a few extra minutes, you can make, write, or create the perfect gift that will leave your loved ones talking until next year.

Here are some gifts based on your skill sets:

If you are crafty, crafty...

Consider hosting a handmade gift exchange with your fam or friends. Whether you knit or crochet, have bomb calligraphy, paint, or make amazing candles, are amazing at scrapbooks and photo collages, make jewelry or photography, there are a plethora of ways to gift using your own mad skills. 

Another practical idea for those crafty queens and kings is to design printable calendars or organizers. Whether you choose to design them digitally or are more artistically inclined and can hand draw your calendar (go off, sis!) these are gifts any adult with a whole lot of life and not a lot of brain space to remember it all will appreciate. My friends and I have funny sayings, memories, and inside jokes, we still cackle about to this day. If you and your friends have things like that, consider making a weekly or monthly calendar featuring those for a deeply personal and hilarious!

If you are a skincare, self-care guru...

Why not whip up your own homemade skin care products? Skin and lip sugar scrubs and coffee scrubs are literally the easiest things to whip up and people love them! There are also a ton of recipes for making balms, moisturizers, and hair and skin oils. (Just make sure you know that the person you mean to gift these skincare goodies isn't allergic to any of the ingredients first!)

A bit of a bookworm...

Consider hosting or sharing in a book exchange! Check your own home library for those reads that you have finished and round up your fellow reader pals to exchange books as gifts. It's free AND you have your next exciting read!

If you are good with words...
Write heartfelt, funny, or inspiring letters to your favorite people. Let's face it, very few of us ever get handwritten letters anymore. How beautiful and kind would it be to write how you feel about them on cardstock or on pretty paper. Those words may mean more than any gift card or store-bought gift.

If you have a lot of good stuff in your home you're willing to part with...

Consider gifting your vintage and good conditioned items. If you know your friend loves that vintage scarf or brooch you barely wear or no longer love or your sister adores that vintage bag you used to carry but is now collecting dust, box it up in a pretty and meaningful way and gift it. You are giving something you know they love (because they told you!) and you are clearing space in your home!

If you have an oasis of a garden...

Hand your fellow plant lovers a few plant clippings or bulbs to add to their own gardens (or indoor gardens in my case.) 

Got some extra produce from your veggie or herb garden? Place them into a pretty box or basket and present them to your veggie loving loved ones.

If you can cook...
Consider making and hosting a dinner party as your gift to others. Grab your families or friends favorite recipes that you make and get to cooking.

Not into the party but you can still throw down in the kitchen? Break out the Tupperware and pack home-cooked meals to deliver to your loved ones. 

Another idea is to compile your family's well-loved or your friends' favorite recipes into a cookbook and gift it. Keep it green and skip the printing and gift it digitally!

If you can bake...

Consider making batches of your family or friends favorites and wrap them in a pretty way and TA-DA! Tasty treats as a gift. I make chocolate caramel pretzels every holiday season that my friends love. Bagged up in a pretty bag with a note tied to the side, and call it a gift!

If you have a special talent...
Chore/ Favor coupons are AMAZING for more practically minded friends and family. Break out the construction paper and markers or print out a few of these and make a coupon book for family and friends. Whether you are a champion babysitter, an amazing cleaner or car washer, or have real skills in makeup, massages, hair or nail styling, all of those make for great favor coupons your loved ones will appreciate.

All of these literally cost a whole lot of nothing to do and are guaranteed to garner a wow at your family or friend's gift exchange!