being a student at christmas time is really hard, especially if you have a million people to buy for, mainly because if you are currently living off of the final dregs of your first student loan payment, and don't get your next one until the beginning of next term... so as I am currently doing that myself, I thought I would share some of my christmas present ideas (hoping my family won't suss their presents out) so that you can spend less, but make it look like you have spent loads!p.s. mom & katrina, if you are reading this, i advise you not too because your gifts will be spoiled...
Gifts for the women in your family/friend groupsWomen are the worst to buy for, in the past I have usually ended up buying my mom slippers or a dressing gown or perfume, but sometimes these things can be a bit expensive especially if you have a big sister that thoroughly enjoys getting presents... *cough* Katrina *cough*.So Steve and I got to thinking about what we could get this year that would be a really nice gift but not bank breaking expensive. Most students are always told not to get points cards etc, but you NEED a boots card if you are a student (especially a girl) because you buy make up, hair stuff etc and with a boots card you get 4 points with every £1 you spend and each point is worth a penny. If you save all of your boots points up over the year, you'll be likely to have hundreds and hundreds, if not thousands of points, so you can use them on the brilliant pampering kits that boots supply in their 3 for 2 gifts every year at christmas. We were thinking that if you buy 3 of these gifts, instead of giving one to each person, you could combine them and give them away in little goodie bags - that way you're spending the same amount on each person, but you're getting loads of little things and its much more enjoyable for them to open (I hope).
Gifts for the men in your family/friend groupsBuying for men is actually arguably worse than buying for women, so scratch what I said in the opening line of my last paragraph because men are the WORST to buy for. I never know what to get for a man, because they don't really care for toiletries.. and that is about as far as my gift guide goes, but there are few things you can never go wrong with:socks - a bit boring but men lose socks all the time, and get holes in them so they are always needed!action dvd's - there are always loads of new action movie releases before christmas, and HMV has really good 3 for £20 or 2 for £10 deals on dvd's at the moment!novelty gifts - if you go to places like menkind (gadget shop), or hawkins bazaar you are bound to find something hilarious, and most men have a good sense of humor and will be very amused by a novelty, funny gift and these are usually quite cheap so you can get a few!
Younger siblings or members of the familyJust to prove to them that living a student life is extremely poor and difficult this year, I am getting my younger brother and sister a medium sized gift bag full of sweeties. There are so many amazing deals on sweets before christmas, and usually kids aren't allowed to eat loads and loads of junk, so this is the perfect time to go and get them loads of junk food because it's christmas, and their parents can't really say no... hahaha (evil sister plans)!I have loaded my brother and sister's bags with candy canes, smarties, terry's chocolate oranges, fruit pastels, chocolate coins and sooo much more. The best thing about this incredibly cheap gift is that any child (unless they are really healthy) will LOVE this - when I was young, the best bit about my stocking was getting a massive box of chocolate so you can't go wrong really!
Your boyfriend or girlfriend...Last year, Steve and I spent an absolute fortune on gifts, I even got a TIFFANY RING (AHHHH) but, as much I loved getting really expensive, pretty gifts, it was silly how much we spent so this year we are spending a lot less and buying a lot more.We have decided to buy loads of little presents, and spend between £50 to £70 on each other to save more money and make it a little interesting.There are so many things you can get your boyfriend or girlfriend, mainly little necessities that they haven't got round to buying yet, and you can't go wrong! For girls I advise one of the presents to be hot water bottle (I already have one, so this is not a hint haha), because they are so handy in the cold weather and if you get a really cute one, they are actually just nice to have. Nice scented candles are also a must over winter because of how cute they are, and also some toiletries like bath bombs etc.For boys, I advise dvd's, like ones they have been hinting at or you went to see at the cinema. xbox or ps3/4 games, because you get really good deals around christmas and boys always want new games to play and lose themselves in for a few weeks. Finally, shaving kits because shaving is expensive when you're a student, and razors are irritating to buy because good ones cost so much.. So buy a cute little shaving kit with some nice shaving foam, face creams etc and the boy won't complain!
I hope this has been a little helpful in getting you into the mood for buying stuff this year, even though you're probably dreading going shopping!muchos loveysabellexxxxx
