The art of thrifty gifting

We all have that one month that seems to be full of occasions, mine's March. Neve is ten and Chase is two this month, I know, I planned that well. My dear brother Steven has also, very inconsiderately I might add, decided to get married in the same month and as if that wasn't enough we have Easter to look forward to too! So, with all these events to buy gifts for, and of course new outfits, I need to keep costs down without looking like a tight wad, although with my dad being a scouser, I could blame him-I joke he's actually very generous! I have a way of buying gifts without spending a fortune, that are memorable and pleasantly received. I will use the last gift I gave as an example. My brother's lovely fiancé Charlotte has not long found out she was pregnant, much to my delight, although I cursed as another gift would be needed. I scoured Asda for the cheapest things I could find, that would relate to pregnancy and bought a gift bag to put everything in. I ended up with:

2 notebooks, one for him to keep the baby appointments in and one for her to document the pregnancy and birth.

A pack of Twining's ginger tea for if she was feeling sick.

2 face masks and a box of bath salts to have a pamper night while they had the chance.

A pair of booties for the baby. 

A box of paracetamol for him for when the baby was born!

I wrapped all the items in silver tissue and labelled what each one was for and it went down a treat. All for just short of £7! 

This was just an example of one type of gift, but the main idea is put some thought into it then you can get away with spending a bit less and not look like a cheapskate. Use their age as inspiration, for instance you could get a ten-year-old ten things from the pound shop, or if it's a wedding anniversary use the colour, buy red for ruby, silver or gold for 25 or 50 years (obviously not real silver or gold, just the colour) or you could make it a funny gift and buy a friend who you know doesn't like the thought of ageing, a pack of incontinence pads, a cover your grey dye and some slippers! Let your imagination go wild and think how you can make the next occasion memorable for someone without breaking the bank.