If you are looking for great birthday gifts under ten dollars, a number of viable and appropriate options available to you that won’t break the bank. Some of the best gifts are the ones that you create and put together yourself, mainly because you’re forced to put more time and thought into them than you would if you had just purchased a generic gift from the store.
Is it O.K to Give Cheap Gifts?
The trick to giving cheap birthday gifts is to do your best to make them appear more expensive than they are. Not everyone has a huge budget to shop every time a loved one’s birthday comes around, however, you don’t want to let the day pass without acknowledging it either, as that may hurt their feelings. While everyone would love to go out and purchase high dollar birthday presents, it is most always acceptable to give inexpensive or handmade gifts as an alternative.
Cheap Birthday Gift Ideas
No matter what your budget or your giftee’s interests, inexpensive gift options are available to you. Below you will find just a few simple and creative money saving options for birthday gift giving to help get you started. The best thing about these birthday gifts ideas are that the price tags for these items range from absolutely free to just under ten dollars.
Free Birthday Gift Ideas
If you are working on virtually no budget, don’t fear — it doesn’t mean you have to go to a birthday celebration empty handed. Several free birthday gift ideas are deemed thoughtful and acceptable.
Music Compilations
Are you a whiz on a computer? Is your MP3 player your best friend? Put your skills to work and create a music compilation collection to give as a cheap birthday gift . All you will need is your computer and some blank CD’s, which most people have hanging around their house. Search the web, your music collection and any other resources you can get your hands on and put together a few CD’s — each with different themes. If you’re looking for a cute way to say I love you — make a disk full of songs that remind you of that person. As an alternative, put together a group of ‘party songs’ that they love or burn a CD that they have been waiting to buy. If you’re artistic, grab a couple of Sharpie markers and decorate the disks — don’t worry, it won’t hurt them.
Birthday Coupons
Another spectacular free birthday gift idea is to make birthday coupons. Use paper, craft supplies or even your computer to create a set of personalized coupons that entitle the receiver to different things when they use them. For example, if you are giving these gifts to your best girlfriend, create a coupon for one free girls only spa night or one free friend date to the movies. If your friend has children, a night of free babysitting is also appropriate. Your coupons can say anything you want, just make sure that they are applicable to the receiver.
Flowers
Giving flowers to someone for their birthday is an excellent way to tell them that you are thinking of them. If you want to give a gorgeous bouquet of flowers but do not have the budget to get them from a florist, go the old fashioned route and pick them yourself. If you have several kinds of flowers around your yard, get to picking. Does your neighbor grow roses? Tell them about your project and in most cases they will be willing to help you out. Once you are done foraging, take your flowers home, cut the stems to an appropriate length and tie a bow around them with a piece of ribbon that you have lying around your house. If you’re looking for that extra bit of pizazz, grab a mason jar from your cabinet, cover it in glue and roll it in glitter to make an absolutely free vase.
Cheap Birthday Gifts Under Ten Dollars
Those with a small budget also have a number of options when it comes to finding acceptable cheap birthday gifts. Many gifts can be purchased and assembled for under ten dollars. Some of these gift ideas include:
Cooking Tools
Does your gift recipient love to cook? Are their kitchen utensils old and decrepit? Visit a local dollar mart, such as the Dollar Tree (where everything is actually a dollar) and purchase a number of tools such as ladles, spatulas and a whisk. Remember to also purchase a cute, wide mouthed canister to gift them in. Take them home, arrange your tools, handles down inside the canister and finish with a ribbon bow.
If you are looking for cute, sentimental options for cheap birthday gifts under ten dollars, try putting together a photo frame. Search through your digital camera or old photo albums and find five or six pictures of you and your loved one or your loved one and their family. Take those pictures to your local drugstore and have one print of each copied and developed. This typically will cost only three to four dollars at the most. You can then go back and visit the dollar store and select a decorative frame that displays several pictures. If you are going for a modern look — select a black frame as it goes with most decor schemes. If you are feeling artsy, decorate the frame using the art supplies you have at home for a completely unique and inexpensive birthday gift.
The Gift of Pampering
Everyone loves to relax, so, If you would love to give a cheap birthday gift that your loved one is bound to appreciate, try buying them a few candles, a bottle of bubble bath, a loofah and some exfoliating body scrub to give them the ultimate self-pampering kit. These items together can typically be purchased under ten dollars, however, for additional savings try finding a cheap gift bath gift set that smells good. You can actually take the set out of the box, add some candles and arrange all of the items in a basket tied with ribbon for a cute ‘homemade’ effect.
Although inexpensive, this gift can look pricey if done right so avoid buying “cheap looking products”, especially candles. When it comes to buying cheap candles, stick with universal scents that are hard to mess up such as vanilla, lavender and cinnamon. Be sure to smell them first because if they don’t smell good on the shelf, chances are they will smell horrible when lit.
While its not something that’s often talked about, sometimes it is necessary to give cheap birthday gifts. The trick to giving inexpensive, yet fabulous gifts is to remember to make them as sentimental and attractive as possible without giving away that you didn’t have the budget to go all out. The more effort you put into it the better it will be received so remember to put your heart into it to make great gifts under ten dollars absolutely doable.
