How does having no money force you to be creative with gifts?
Like many freelancers, my income is not always the most steady. For things like birthdays and holidays this can prove to be difficult, especially for those of us who really love to give gifts. Recently, a few of my friends have gotten engaged, there have been anniversaries, and just so many summer birthdays. I'm not ashamed to admit that I was apprehensive about affording gifts for everyone, and just not giving gifts is not an option. Therefore, I had to get a little creative these last couple weeks.
Engagement and Wedding Presents
Most couples obviously go for a registry of some kind or ask that people donate to their honeymoon fund or their favorite charity. But what if you have no money to give? What if they want a $100 gravy boat? My solution to this recent problem was to offer to create the happy couple's wedding website, snapchat filters for their bachelor(ette) parties and wedding showers and reception, and then gather all of the hashtagged photos from their guests to create a photo book. Not only does it save oodles of time and money and frustration on their part, but also makes it a little more personal. Sites like the Knot offer templates but then their website is the same as everyone else's and you get to spend time with the bride and groom throughout the entire planning process.
Anniversaries
Luckily for me, most everyone I know got together in the digital age, so wedding hashtags are a-plenty. Similar to the guest book idea above, it's so easy to stalk some Facebook and Instagram accounts to compile a collection of photos. Something a little #extra would be going to a site like Blurb.com and formatting them as a magazine or more bougie portfolio-style book. The prints are super cheap and they usually arrive pretty quickly. If you're in more of a rush, Staples does 24-hour print services.
Birthdays
Birthdays are the easiest, as the gifts don't need to be so lovey-dovey. My good fortune also prevails here, as many mommies I know don't want someone just running to Target (read: Tarjaaaaay) for a last minute piece of crap toy their kid won't even play with and most of my non-parent friends want to just go to dinner and call it good. For my boss's seven-year-old son's birthday, I designed a kid-friendly cookbook that included three-ingredient breakfasts and healthy yet delicious after school snacks. The kiddo used the book literally the next day, as one of his chores is to help make dinner. As for the recent college grads that can't afford a fancy dinner, just make dinner. Do an inexpensive, hipster table setting with some $5 Trader Joe's flower arrangement and try something new. I can almost guarantee it'll be enjoyed.
Holidays
For things like Valentine's Day and Christmas, it gets a little harder. As often as people do it, nobody wants Christmas cookies for Christmas. There's a whole Friends episode about it. And let's face it, nobody can knit quite like Grandma, so Weasley-based sweaters are out of the question. This predicament is solved by Amazon dupes, gift baskets, and beautiful wrapping jobs. For Valentine's Day this last year, I really struggled (I had started my business about a month prior). I ended up coming up with hilarious "coupons" that were mostly based on inside jokes with my man, and topped it off with a movie night themed gift basket - popcorn, candy, two movie tickets, and the coupons looked adorable wrapped up in a $1 plastic popcorn box. He totally loved it and it cost a total of about $20.
Sharing is Caring
If you have any thoughts or feedback or extra knowledge, share it in the comments. The whole point of this blog is to help each other figure it all out!
