20 Inexpensive Christmas Gift Ideas: Cheap Holiday Gifts

Every year many people give out free Christmas gifts. Some people join a charitable organization and some work with a local community group to deliver presents, gift baskets, toys etc. to children as well as adults. Then some good samaritans work individually to give out Christmas gifts to lesser fortunate ones. 

Christmas is supposed to be a special time for everyone but not all families can afford a celebration, however minuscule in proportion. You are reading this article means you are a kind human being who’s looking to make Christmas ‘Merry’ for the people who are struggling financially. We are touched by your kindness and would like to help you with ideas that you can give as Christmas gifts or help in making one yourself. Do take a look:

20 Best inexpensive gifts to give this Christmas 

This Christmas, give something that is inexpensive yet useful. We bring you the most appropriate list of gifts that fit the list and will not cost a fortune.

To help you with incredible gift hampers, we are listing a storage basket set. You will get 3 pcs of woven wicker baskets. Some Christmas felts like a snowman, Santa, reindeer and Christmas tree will also be given for you to pin on the baskets to make your Christmas hamper look cute. 

The four handmade paper rope storage boxes are of different sizes and you can fill them up with knick knacks of different types in each box. The family who gets these baskets, even one of them, can use it for storage purposes. They can keep it in the bedroom, living room, kitchen or closet. Because of a tight budget, they are unable to buy any decorative storage bins. With your Christmas boxes, they will have fun organizing their room, and getting rid of some of the clutter.

Key Features:

• Lightweight but sturdy
• Safe eco-friendly boxes

This blue and white pen engraver will help you to add a special touch to so many gifts. You do not have to pay at stores, online or offline, for the customisation of gifts. By using this machine engraver, you can etch the names of recipients on any glass, metal, rubber and wood surface. The pen is the right size for you to hold comfortably in your hand, just like a normal pen. The sharp engraving tip etches letters easily and you will be given an extra tip too. There is a power button on the pen which you have to press with your thumb. This pen works on battery. Now you can personalize any gift items with names, initials, messages, and wishes and make them memorable gifts for others. If you are thinking of gifting some homemade wine, etch a warm message on the bottle!

Key Features:

• Light plastic pen
• Easy to hold
• Engraves on anything

You will certainly need a lot of Christmas present tags. Each gift should ideally be attached with a tag to announce who the gift is for and from whom. Even if you do not intend to include any names, just writing a good wish message is enough to cheer up someone even before unwrapping the gift. We are guessing you are planning to give out quite a few gifts, so we have found a low-cost pack of 50 Christmas tree-shaped tags. You can hang them on gifts and if there are excess cards, you can always keep them for next Christmas. If you are planning a Christmas craft activity with a bunch of kids, these can be used for scrapbook activities. If hosting a free Christmas lunch or dinner is what you have planned, you can use them as table tags.

Key Features:

• Pre-punched holes
• Good for a DIY project
• Can be used for Christmas decoration

When people are not in a comfortable situation, a little bit of emotional support helps a lot to make them feel better. Give them this jar filled with motivational and thoughtful quotes. It is called ‘Success & Inspiration’ in a jar. It will help to fill one with hope and make them try harder for achieving their goals. If someone has lost his/her job, there will be renewed enthusiasm and vigour to try to look harder and not feel defeated. The jar is filled with multi-colour paper strips which help to brighten up the corner of a room which is lacking the festive spirit. Give them to a family and every member can use this gift. Each member can take out a strip and their message for the day. It will give them a little hope and fervour.

Key Features:

• 31 thoughtful messages
• Cheers up the spirit
• Secret Santa gift

You can re-gift a vase that has been in your house. If it has brought you compliments, you will do good by sharing the vase with someone who can use it. Just to add an extra touch to the vase, you can put in these vase fillers. These are round multicoloured jelly-like balls. If there is a kid in the household, the child will love the jar filled with colourful balls. It will become a fun home decorative item. The balls will look good in a vase of any shape or size. If kept rehydrated and undisturbed, the crystals can be reused for days. When the vase is filled with water, these balls absorb it and swell up because polymer gel has been used in making them. These water beads act as crustal soil for plants and flowers.

Key Features:

• Helps plants grow
• Can be used with artificial flowers
• Good centrepiece decoration even without plants

This is another DIY Christmas gift, though you have to pay a very small amount for the recipient it will be a great free DIY gift. You can also buy this for your family. You can fill up the scrapbook and then give it to the family or you can all have a great time doing it together. On a similar note, give this kit to another family who does not have much to do on Christmas. They will have a great day by filling up their adventure book with memories. The album comes in a lovely gift box. In the box, there is a full kit containing scissors, decorative stickers and adhesive lace, photo corners, postcards, coloured pens and the scrapbook. The recipient won’t have to purchase one single thing extra for filling this album up creatively.

Key Features:

• High-quality paper
• Creative gift

You can also give a meal as free Christmas presents to a family. That would be one of the best gifts for a family who has difficulty in putting a complete meal on the table. And for these, you might need help with gathering some recipes. This is a recipe book made specifically for Christmas festivals. All the recipes are simple ones which will help you in preparing delicious homemade food for your guests. The recipes are mostly for a family of four and you can adjust your ingredients according to the number of individuals you are going to serve. So, for a couple, use half the ingredients and for a large family gathering, double it. You get the idea.

Key Features:

• Easy recipes
• Dessert recipes included
• Very low-cost kindle edition

We have a wonderful free Christmas gift idea. ‘The Gift of the Magi’ is one of the greatest Christmas short stories and the Kindle version is available for free. The story is about a young married couple and their love and sacrifice. Living in poverty, the couple finds it hard to buy Christmas gifts for one another. The story also shows how they manage to do so but also makes the readers think if spending money on a gift is necessary every Christmas. You can give it to any teen who is in high school as they will enjoy it most. Or if you know a family who, like the characters in the book, are unable to buy presents, you can read it out to them yourself! Gift them your presence and a short story reading session. You can also discuss how everyone feels after hearing the story and what they’ve learnt. We are sure it’s going to be an emotional time.

Key Features:

• Short Christmas story
• Story with a moral

This is a gift which you can give when you are on a limited budget and don’t want to splurge on a gift. You can share the link with the recipients and then host a watch party. You all can chat while watching this Christmas flick and enjoy the holiday together. It can also be your gift to your family. All of you can gather in the living room and watch this movie for free on Amazon Prime. It is a great feel-good movie for the whole family. The movie will teach us all a thing or two about kindness and friendship and love and what should matter to us in this life.

Key Features:

• Available free on Amazon Prime
• Redemption movie
• Family-friendly cinema

If you are searching for free Christmas gifts for kids, we would suggest this one for your kids. You can download this game for free. Children will be thrilled with the cute characters and animation. The pony sisters’ family is made up of 5 sisters and a baby pony. Your kids will have a gala time by baking cookies with them, singing a Christmas song, decorating the Christmas tree and fireplace, decorating a gingerbread house and designing Christmas outfits and doing a whole lot of other fun activities.

Key Features:

• Fun and educational game
• Enhances creativity
• Good for toddlers too

Free Christmas gifts are not very difficult to make by a crocheter or anyone who is into knitting. And if crocheting is something that you pursue as a hobby, then thinking of gifts that require spending almost nil isn’t hard for you, right? How about knitting up several dishcloths? They are easy to make and don’t take up much time. With your crocheting skill, you might prepare one in one afternoon or evening. And every family needs dishrags, so your gift will be a useful gift that will also decorate their kitchen. You can make Christmassy patterns on them like Christmas trees, snowflakes or snowmen. If you are out of yarn, get this multicolour pack of 10 yarns for doing your craftwork.

Key Features:

• Colourful set having rainbow colours
• 100% Cotton
• Very strong yarn

In sync with the previous idea, we thought of another similar one. So what if you are not an expert sewer, you can still make some pot holders with some fabric scraps lying around somewhere in your home. You can make many of them for giving to multiple people. And they all are going to appreciate your gift as it is a useful one. Utility gifts never fail to satisfy people. To help you start your project, we have listed this book as having 20 colourful designs for making bright pot holders. The book has photos, instructions, templates and patterns so that you can make pot holders and pinchers quickly. There are many patterns but we suggest you use the ‘Winter Holidaze’ theme to stitch up your Christmas gifts.

Key Features:

• Festive designs
• Big photos
• Clear instructions

Make Christmas greeting cards for the people you love. Gifts don’t have to be big things, it’s the thought that counts and cards are meaningful and thoughtful gifts and homemade cards hardly cost a thing. You can use them to make some delightful greeting cards and write personal notes on each of them. And apart from making cards, you can make simple decorations, paper origami and Christmas paper chains. You can also use them for making envelopes or decorating small baskets.

Key Features:

• Double-sided printing
• Helpful for Christmas cards
• Can be used for decoration

With all the noise, you must be aware by now that scrunchies are back in fashion. Yes, the hair accessories that were so huge in the 90s. So for all the teenage girls you know, make them free Christmas presents. Sew some homemade scrunchies and see them break into a big grin. Scrunchies are back because styling with them is easier and there is lesser hair breakage and hair fall than when using normal rubber ties. Somehow it is also fashionable to wear your scrunchie on your wrist! Even if you have basic crocheting skills, you will be able to make a bunch of scrunchies. And for you to make some delightful ones, we’ve listed a book which will help you with the 6 different patterns given in this e-book.

Key Features:

• 6 scrunchie patterns
• Tips included

Soaps make for great Christmas gifts which you can make at home without spending any money. Have a look at this silicone mould which will help you to make unique soaps with Santa Claus on them. The soap is easy to take out from the mould. Because it is made with food-grade silicone, you can also use it for making desserts too. The mould is dishwasher-friendly, so it is easy to clean. For soaps, you will be making rectangular soaps and you can make soaps of different colours using the mould. Even if you are going to make soaps for the first time, you can make them easily.

Key Features:

• Can make bath bombs and lotion bars
• Can make unique brownies
• Microwave and freezer safe

Another wonderful gift which you can make for your friends and family almost free at home is candles. You can easily make your candles with this set. You will get a wax-melting pot, candle wicks, wick holders and wick stickers. The candle wicks will burn without any smoke and the candle will have a long burning time. The pouring pot has double-pour spouts and is made with stainless steel. The wicks provided are of three different sizes, so you can make candles of various sizes using leftover jars at home. Oh, and you can use the pot for making chocolates and sauces too! But first, surprise your loved ones by making some perfect candles following the instructions provided. Add some colour and fragrance to make them just like the ones available in stores.

Key Features:

• Can make big candles
• Inexpensive kit
• Can make many candles

Free Christmas baskets are also good gifting options. Though this is not free for you, you can buy this for your kids, so that they can give it to other kids as free baskets. Anyway, this basket does not cost much. The delicious chocolates will immediately lift the spirit of the recipient. So if anyone is not able to get some desserts for Christmas, you will have satisfaction knowing that you have made his/her Christmas sweet. Kids as well as adults will enjoy these sweet treats.

Key Features:

• Shareable hamper
• Contains assorted branded chocolates
• Safe packaging

We have thought about a brilliant idea where you will make almost-free gifts. Remember your grandma’s recipe book which your mom handed over to you with her recipes added to it? Surely you have hunted and added some wonderful recipes to the book yourself. Now is a brilliant time for putting those recipes to good use, but not by cooking. Confused? We are talking about making giftable recipe cards which you can give others. Others will also get to cook and taste some great dishes following your family recipes. Doesn’t that give you a good feeling already? This unique set of recipe cards has 50 double-sided note cards and you will also have space to write down details about the recipe on fronts like total time and ingredients and the back will enable you to write even large recipes.

Key Features:

• The choice between floral and kitchenware template
• Space for large recipes
• Unique Christmas gift

If there is a couple you know who is going through a difficult time and you know they won’t be able to have a good Christmas dinner, buy them a meal without making it so obvious. Give this authentic Thai cooking kit to them, so that they can have a good time cooking up an easy and delicious meal and then enjoying it too. There are Pad Thai noodles with moderately spiced Pad Thai sauce. There are 8 steps to be followed and leaving out any prep time, only 8 minutes are required for having a delicious meal prepared. One kit serves two and they won’t have to buy a whole lot of things for stirring up an authentic meal. Just some proteins and vegetables from the fridge will do. Each kit comes in a gift bag so the couple will not feel any embarrassment in accepting a free meal.

Key Features:

• Authentic meal ready without a cookbook
• Serves two
• Comes in a gift bag

Well, homemade hand-crafted greeting cards are a kind of free Christmas gift card and one of the best free Christmas gifts too. But we were thinking of including real gift cards which will help the recipient buy things that he/she needs. And if you get one for them, you won’t have to spend a lot. You can purchase one for just 10 dollars. There are 15 Christmas designs to choose from and the gift card will be attached on the left side, upon opening the card. Nothing has been pre-printed on the card, so you can add your personal touch by writing a heartfelt message. You are going to be such a great Santa for the one who receives this gift!

Key Features:

• No expiration date
• Can be redeemed by scanning
• Redeemable against uncountable things available

You have finally reached the end of our great inexpensive gift ideas. Most of them are free Christmas present ideas which you can make at home. Honestly, for most of the DIY gifts too, you have to pay a tiny amount for getting the kits. But please understand that you are purchasing products that you can use consistently. E.g.: the soap mould. It will give us great joy in knowing that our almost-free gift ideas have been used by you in lighting up someone’s Christmas. Thanks in advance!