Christmas Ideas

Happy December Friends!  I couldn't let the holidays go by without helping you out with your gift giving!  Just kidding.  But here are a few things that I think would make great Christmas gifts for the fabulous people in your life.  Remember, I'm on a budget, so nothing too fancy here.

1.  I like to trade my credit card points in for gift cards ... either to give directly to someone or for a store I know I want to buy someone's gift from.  I hate to toot my own horn (and I may have gotten this idea from my mom so I might be tooting her horn), but I think this is a genius idea.  You use your card all year, you accumulate points and then you trade them in for presents.  And then giving gifts isn't so expensive.  My credit card uses the Thank You Network and some of the gift cards I will be trading my points in for are Starbucks, iTunes and Sephora ... and they have tons of other great stores too! 

2.  

I am in LOVE with these super cute bags from Gussy.  These would be perfect for your mom, your sister, your friends or your co-workers.  Especially at $14.50.  Buy a little pouch, pop in a gift card to MAC, Sephora or some other cosmetic store and it's a great little gift.  With a theme.  Sigh.  I love themes.

3.  Magazine subscriptions ... this is the gift that keeps on giving!  And you can get really good deals online ... or even with your credit card points.  Here I go again with those darn points, but seriously who doesn't love giving free gifts?  The Thank You Network offers a pretty good selection of monthly magazines and they cost around 2,000 points, which is not that much.  Amazon also has pretty good deals on magazines ... I wrote this post about getting a year's subscription to Real Simple for $10.00.  And there's a magazine out there for everyone ... just get creative ... there are great food, travel, beauty, fashion, organizing, scrapbooking, crafting, etc. magazines out there!  

  

4.  Books make great gifts as well ... and can be relatively inexpensive.  A couple of years ago, I gave all my best girl friends "Eat, Pray, Love."  I read it that year, LOVED it and thought I would share it with them.  Amazon and Half.com are two great places to look for books at a discount or check to see if you have a Half Price book store in your area ... that place is AMAZING!

5.    COFFEE.  Now, I may be biased since I live in the coffee capital of the world, but I think coffee is a great gift.  Get a nice travel coffee mug, ceramic perhaps, and a gift card to Starbucks and you've got a great gift.  Or pair it with a package of Starbucks VIA Coffee.  The recipient will be thanking you for weeks to come.  I found this ceramic mug on Amazon for only $10.25:

6.  There's an App for that ... For the iPhone/iPod lover in your life ... these are too cute:

App Magnets

7.  For the crazy pet lover in your life ... 

Paw Print Ornament Kit

If you aren't on a budget, don't forget these all would make great stocking stuffers or gifts for Secret Santas!  What are your favorite gifts for the holidays?