Today is – gulp! – 48 days to Christmas. If you haven’t started gift shopping yet, you’ll be wringing every dollar out from now on!

Here’s 30 Christmas gift ideas that cost $30 or much, much less, but still look thoughtful. Well, OK, they’re only thoughtful if you match them to the right recipient…

1. A packet of freshly roasted gourmet coffe with a mug for your office colleague who’s always griping about the cost of his or her daily Starbucks
2. A small canvas square from an artshop plus a packet of textas for your young, artistically inclined niece or nephew (keeps ‘em quiet, too!)
3. Sparkly gel pens and blank cards for your neighbour’s preteen daughter
4. A disposable camera for a friend who’s travelling somewhere where the natives are shall we say, known for being light-fingered?
5. One of those rubber knee rests for the garden for your dad or grandfather when they’re busy weeding or working on the rockery
6. Gourmet BBQ sauce and basting brush for your brother
7. Gift vouchers to the movies for your teenagers
8. Cute moulded cookie tray to create heart-, star- or exotically-shaped biscuits for your Nigella Lawsoneque friend
9. A few bars of fancy chocolate tied with a ribbon (great as a thank-you gift)
10. Pretty mug, strainer and packet of herbal tea for your hippy-dippy friend
11. A tarot card pack for your other New Age friend
12. Bottle of summery nail polish and a quick-dry spray for your busy mother
13. Hot glue gen for your brother who’s renovating
14. Paint phrases, ie love, happiness, health, wealth – or people’s names - on 4 or 6 metallic Christmas balls for the tree using glue and then rolling them gently in silver or gold glitter
15. An international copy of a magazine in their particular interest ie homewares, fashion, cars, sport etc
16. An emailed BabyStars report for a friend who lives on the other side of the world who’s just had a baby
17. A cool t-shirt from one of those mall shops that create them using different designs on the spot for your son
18. A sports crop-top bra for your teenage daughter
19.  A packet of pretty stationery and stamps for your elderly aunt who loves to keep in touch the old-fashioned way
20. A USP stick (as many GB as you can afford) for your career whiz on the go
21. An iTunes card for anyone under 30, really
22. A vibrant Thai silk jewellery roll for your mother
23. An emailed LoveStars report for a friend who’s getting married
24. A six-pack of really good, gourmet beer for your uncle
25. A surprise carwash and vaccum for your Dad or partner
26. A jewellery organiser or earring tree for your granddaughter
27. A rack of lamb, a kilo of prawns, or whatever his favourite dish may be – and cook it for him
28. Put a really good photo of you together in a nice photo frame
29. A fun doormat for someone who’s just bought a new house
30. Create a surprise goodie bag containing all their favourite sweets from childhood…

Tags: bargain-hunting, Christmas gifts, DIY gifts, gift cards, personalised gifts

This entry was posted on Friday, November 6th, 2009 at 9:51 pm and is filed under Christmas gifts, gifts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.