Inexpensive Christmas Gifts

Around this time of the year, everyone will be pre-occupied with Christmas presents, not just buying and giving them but also getting them. In the midst of all the festivities, sometimes the real meaning of giving is lost. After the Christmas holidays, we accumulate more ‘stuff’, sometimes even losing track of who gave them. Isn’t this just awful? So how do you make your Christmas gift special? It takes just a little extra effort.

With a little effort, an inexpensive Christmas gift can become one of the most treasured gifts, sometimes lasting for life.

Let me tell you a story about a special Christmas gift I got for Christmas many, many years ago. This most precious gift is still in my house today, not collecting dust, but occupying pride of place by being significantly displayed on the shelf, even after 15 years. On occasions, I still pick it up and remember how much it meant to the giver in giving me this little Christmas present.

The Christmas present was just a seashell – an inscripted cone-shaped seashell with something very special written inside it – which made it the only one in the entire world and very special to me. He had painstakingly carved a short love letter message on the inside, on the mouth of the shell. He had wriiten a love note to me, using the shell as his medium.

Although the cone shell was rather pretty, he later told me that he found it during one of his trips to the beach. As a shell, it didn’t cost him anything, and wasn’t all that unique.. But his painstaking effort in carving a message for me on the shell had made it so valuable, and turned out to be something I have, and will continue to treasure for the rest of my life.

The interesting thing is that this shell will definitely outlive me and one of my children will probably want it. I have often shared this story with my kids, and curious friends, on how this shell came to be in my possession. All of them are so taken up by the thoughtfulness and the innovativeness of the gift. I have had the love note framed up with the envelope it came in, and have placed it on our living room shelf.

In fact, any type of gift which you can inscribe some wordings on, such as a pet-name or even a secret symbol where you both share, is a perfect Christmas gift. It does not have to be a very long message. Of course, if it can be written on, then a long love letter message is ideal. However, if you have to carve on it then you should pick a short love note. What I have found is that Christmas gifts in this form is more effective if it is not expensive.

The simpler the gift, the better the choice. However, you do have to put in some effort to make it special and you must do it yourself. Don’t worry if it does not come out professional looking or a little flawed – it is alright. In fact, the flaw will accentuate the fact that your gift ‘reeks of effort’ and this makes the gift even more precious. A point to note, you should never send it to other people to make the engraving or writing, the recipient will know and this will tarnish the value of the gift.

So, to make the Christmas gift even more special, attach a love letter to it. It does not have to be a long one and you can get more pointers from my other articles in writing a love letter. Wrap up the gift in a nice box together with your letter. Your gift may not be the biggest or the most expensive but if you put in the right amount of effort, your gift will continually stay with the recipient for a very long time.

Putting effort in selecting a Christmas gift, and mastering the art of writing a love letter and sharing wonderful life’s moments often bring lots of joy to both the giver and the recipient.

Think of your Christmas gift and love letter as a means of capturing life’s moments shared between you and the recipient. Try it and be amazed by its effects. The best part is it does not have to be costly or difficult to do, just a little effort on your part.