Gift giving can trip up even the most carefully frugal. It’s one of the areas where the practicer of thriftiness can appear to be cheap instead of frugal. I’m of the opinion that cheap is NOT the same as frugal. Here is an interesting look at thrift vs. frugal vs. cheap- complete with Venn Diagram! I think this line best explains my feeling of the word cheap- ‘Cheap somehow involved taking advantage of someone else.’ Other differences in my perception are that frugality will research all options for a new purchase and take quality into account. Cheapness will buy the least expensive, even if the item has a short life span and must be repurchased several times over.
When it comes to gift giving, I feel that the frugal giver will carefully consider the recipient of the gift. Is this person open to hand crafted items, re-gifted presents and thrift store finds? If the answer is no, I spend my budgeted amount of money on something shiny and new that the recipient will enjoy. The important thing to remember is that not everyone is overjoyed at a garage-sale-find of a chippy, dented cake carrier from 1962! For the people on your list who are open to frugal creativity, however, it is such a thrill to come across the perfect item. I had just such a happy congruence of recipient and frugal gift opportunity this spring. It was my ‘twin’s’ birthday (my sister who is 2 years younger than me, but who is so like me that we call ourselves the Wonder Twins), and I spied a small, tired, 1974 toadstool print, unframed, in a thrift store next to a pile of old frames, some with mats and some with glass. I chose the assorted items I needed and when I took it up to the register, my total was 75 cents! I took them home, cleaned the glass, trimmed the print and repainted the frame with an old can of spray paint in my garage. It’s not high art, but my sis, who has been on a retro-mushroom love-fest for the past year loved her new print for her sewing room.
Again, when frugal gifting, remember your recipient. Not everyone is overjoyed at a repurposed thrift store item or a hand-made present…and that’s okay! What made my gift a success was that I paid attention to what made my sister happy, and gave her something that spoke to that happiness. We don’t need to spend a lot of money to accomplish this, just a bit of time and thoughtfulness. That will ensure that each gift is a hit, no matter what the cost 🙂
Be sure to check out Biblical Womanhood for more Frugal Friday tips!
I love this! My birthday is coming up and instead of buying me something, my husband is helping me makeover my sewing room. By far, it is the best present he could give me!
Love your site and all your ideas. If I received the cake carrier as a gift I would be estatic. Finally someone who sees the value in vintage!
This was such a touching post! I almost want to get on a vintage mushroom kick myself, just to on a quest for a cool gift like this. I know she’ll never forget it. I think giving frugal gifts really makes us stop and think more deeply about the person…..it’s easy to buy something new for anyone.
aww…thanks sis! I love my shroom print. It matches my sewing room and me perfectly.
love you
Garage sale finds don’t have to look used! I was reading somewhere that people who just married will sell their unwanted, never used wedding gifts at garage sales! Also you can find clothing with the tags still on sometimes. My mom and I sell things we got free using coupons, these are brand new, unopened body washes, shampoos, dental products, food products. A lot of people enjoy these kind of gifts, I think even more so if they have busy families, people who have no idea how to get free stuff at the store or use coupons effectively. For wedding showers, housewarming and birthday gift I usually give a gift bag or basket filled to the brim with toiletries. The stuff isn’t always 100% stuff I got free, if I know the recipient prefers a certain brand of an item, I will watch for buy 1 get 1 free sales or other deals so I can include that in their gifts. For the most part they are 99% free.