If 2020 has taught me something, it is to value things based on the thought that goes into them rather than what their monetary value is. Especially now that meeting people is tricky if not impossible, I truly appreciate the little things that are thoughtfully picked or made for me. 

And I'm sure many feel the same. So in this post, I'm listing few gift ideas that don't require big budget or can easily be adjusted to fit your budget. I'm sure these are ideas that are readily available in other sources too, but these are some I've tested out in recent years and people have really like them. I know this is probably a little late for this year, but save it for next year or for another occasion you need simple gifts for!

Ready? Let's go.

Date/motivation jars

This is very easy, you basically just need a jar (with lid), paper, pen and scissors - and whatever you will use to decorate the said jar so it looks cute. Basically, you just make little notes that will be placed inside the jar - make sure they can be folded so that the recipient can't cheat and read them without taking them out.

For the date jar, you can put date ideas of all kinds (these can be friend dates too, if you're making one to someone you're not romantic with), affordable ones, ones easy to do on a whim, ones that require planning, seasonal ones, holiday-themed ones... Whatever you can think of. 

For the motivation jar, you can do any notes that will cheer up the one you're gifting it to on a day they feel low. It can be X amount of things you love and appreciate about them, motivational quotes, spiritual quotes, lines from their favorite songs or movies, things to do to lift their spirits - again, anything you can think of. 

Gift cards

Sure, you can do ones to someone's favorite store, but I was thinking more of the kinds that will gift the recipient your time or skill etc. For example, make a promise to buy someone a brunch at their favorite place, offer your time to do something they need to get done, and if you have something your good at, like knitting, drawing, crafting - you can offer your service for them.

DIY jars (baking mix, hot chocolate mix etc.)

There are so many different ideas for these on the Internet (especially on Pinterest), so even if you are confused on how to make one, I guarantee you'll find fitting ones for you recipients! I've made, for example, peppermint hot chocolate mixes, where everything but water was in the jar, neatly layered, and attached was the instructions on how to make it (mix everything evenly, measure X amount for one portion and add hot water on top). So you just place dry ingredients in, and let the recipient know what wet ingredients are needed, preferably so that only water will be necessary but for baking ones one might need to add eggs or butter as well. 

Three things to note though: You want to choose recipes where all the ingredients can be mixed up at once, so this stays low maintenance. And, these won't arrive cutely layered through the mail, so I'd prefer giving this kind of gift more or less in person (or you know, taking it behind a person's door or in their mailbox) so they look nicer when received. And most importantly, make sure you know possible allergies your recipient has!

Homemade treats

If you know the one you're gifting to loves treats, but doesn't really bake/cook, why not consider making them something tasty? These are also a gift I'd prefer not to make travel too too long, because switching temperatures can be bad for them. But, depending on what you make, you can mail them if accordingly packed and not against your country's/the country's you're sending this to guidelines for mailing things. I've made cookies, rocky road, and other kinds of simple treats, and these are something that is easy to adjust to the season as well as to the person you're gifting these to.

Here, note the possible allergies too, we don't want to poison anyone, haha!

Travel-sized cosmetics/skincare as pamper pack

I know travel anything isn't really popping this year, but the reason why I mention travel-sized here is because you can find great offers on those and they are a great way to give products someone has been wanting to try, but yet keep this budget-friendly. Although, if you know the products you're gifting are something the recipient loves, go ahead and make the package from normal-sized items too, if that's in your budget. I was also thinking travel-sized (or maxi samples) can be made into a super cute gift set you can curate yourself and can consist of several different brands instead of being from just one. 

Simple DIYs

Here, the sky is your limit, but keeping it budget-friendly I would suggest going through your craft materials and seeing if you can make something without buying that much new. Using my stash as an example, I always have yarn, fabric, some cardboard, jewelry parts, and a miscellaneous assortment of craft supplies in hand, so often I wouldn't need that much new for smaller projects. And for ideas, I would search on YouTube and Pinterest, for example like "simple DIYs with yarn" or "simple DIY gifts sewing" or whatever it is you'd like to do. Or you can search with the product you want to make and with the material you plan on using, and I promise you'll find ideas.

Do you have any great gift ideas? Leave them in the comments below!

That's it for today's post - I'm sorry I'm behind in them (life update explaining that better will follow in January - and no, I'm not pregnant lol), but I thought I'd post them all anyways since I promised them to you. And most of you will have some time off around this time so you'll have time to read if you care about the subjects. Anyway, for more frequent updates, do follow me on Instagram (@jolagerroos), where I post more or less daily - so you get way more content there! The next blog post will be up right after this.

Have a lovely day ♥