It’s all in the presentation.

It’s the 2nd week of December already?? say what??!! I mean… really? Okay, so December is all about the Family Christmas pictures, Christmas parties preparations, Christmas tree pickin’, Decorating, Santa Claus, and most importantly, Gift buying and Gift wrapping. I think the hardest thing for me every year is trying to figure out gifts to buy everyone on a budget. I mean, you have your immediate family, you hubby, your kids. And then you have your parents, in-laws, and grandparents. Then!!!! you have close friends, semi close friends, … co-workers…. OMG!! and the list goes on! Okay!! so unless you are super rich, how do you buy gifts for EVERYONE??

Well, I am a strong believer in the thought of a gift and it’s all in the presentation. Meaning, you don’t need to spend a lot of money to buy and give a thoughtful gift. Instead, sometimes like buying simple gifts that most everyone can use or will like, and just taking that extra little time to make it pretty will give it that extra special feeling to your gift. You may not have spent a lot of money, but you spent a lot of thought. To me those are what counts. I love going to Sephora to get  a gift set of lip glosses or just anything that comes with a bunch of items in a gift set. I then open up the box and individually wrap each item to give out to people. See below for what I found this year.

So this year, ( and i have no idea why I have never thought of getting these before), I decided to buy a whole lot of the bath and body anti-bac soap and dress it up a bit.. I mean really, who doesn’t use these? I am pretty sure that I have washed my hand with these babies at more than 90% of my friend’s house. they go on sale like every few weeks, so you can get like 5 for $18.00 or 5 for $15.00. The deals are a little different each time. But bottom like is, you can end up not spending too much but it’s a thoughtful, yet used gift!

Next thing I found are these beauties! a set of 5 mini duo eyeshadows for $15.00 at Sephora!! and I just found out yesterday that it went on sale for $10.00. what?? yes! I said 5!! okay i will warn you though,….. not as big as you thought,….. but super cute small gift to give out to make-up buffs! I mean, honestly, i would LOVE to get one of these… so because, i didn’t want to be TOO cheap, LOL, I found these bold colored make-up sponges for $5.00 for 4 in a box. Plus!!! it matches the eyeshadow boxes, to make a really match-y presentation.

Okay, now I got my gift ideas… time for the presentation…..

1. a pack of 20 snow flake cello baggies i picked up from hobby lobby for only $1.50, because all Christmas is 50% off right now!
2. I found these snowflakes from last year’s Recollections christmas collection from Michael’s in my christmas stash… but I know this year Michael’s has more snow flakes, so you can definitely get those instead.
3. the cute little wooden clips are also from Michael’s Recollections.. they are on sale for $1.50 a pack right now!
4. i am using white tulle instead of ribbon to give it a soft snowy feel. I have a huge roll of these on hand at all times. but you can buy this at hobby lobby for $9.99 and 50% off now will make it only $4.50 now. youc an also order these on Amazon.
5. lastly, you need cute tags!!! i am using the Heidi swapp “Oh What Fun!” collection Christmas tags.

When I put everything together, I get this! I love how it turned out!

1. Snowflake Cellophane. I love this silver snowflake cello i found at Hobby Lobby! In fact, I am obsessed with it! It is so simple and elegant, and just gives a little more than to a plain cellophane. It was $4.99 but I got it 50% off for $2.50 for a whole role!
2. Green Satin Ribbon. you can use any one you want, I got the 1/2 inch from Michael’s
3. Some Christmas floral decor sprigs of your choice

I love how simple and festive it came out! and plus it was super easy! Just tied a bow around the neck of the bottle then stick 2-3 sprigs behind the bow! yes… easy. the trick is picking the right color scheme. I used all red hand washes, so I picked green for the ribbon to give it a christmas-y feel and chose sprigs of brighter reds and green  with a sprig of golden leaves, so it all ties in together!

this one is probably my favorite one…. find cute little frames. I printed out photos of the people I want to give to instead of having a to and from tag, so you know who they are for 😉 I thought this would make a super cute way to personalize the gift and they will have something a little extra to keep!

I used the snowflake cello again, with a red ribbon to tie it together. Then I clipped the photo frame on with a wooden clip. To finish it off, i added a mini ornament. I just slipped it onto one of the tails of the bow.

Last thing I wrapped, was the eyeshadows and makeup sponge.

1. Snowflake cellophane
2. red ribbon of your choice
3. and christmas floral sprigs

i love how cute and sweet it turned out! i tied together the tag and the little berry sprig into the red satin bow.

More Ideas for thoughtful ideas without breaking your bank:

1. Target: the front dollar bins have a lot of great gifts for kids! Remember… kids, love anything and everything! they do not know the difference between a $40.00 gift or a $12.00 gift. I love putting together little gift baskets that i can get all in the front section of target!
2. Michael’s: has a GREAT stocking stuffers section! they now even have a whole section of cool gifts for men! like a mani/pedi set, Moscow mule mugs, bottle openers, etc. those are great to buy individually for the men in your life, or male co-workers and wrap it all in a more masculine way. You can put it in a brown paper bag and use twine and a branch with a tag with a buck on it for a more masculine touch. perhaps a future post on gift wrapping for men?
3. Paper Source: has so much fun and quirky gifts for people in our lives. You must check out their website’s gift section.. so much fun and even thoughtful gifts. But this will be a bit on the pricier side. (sometimes, i like to look it up on amazon to see if it is cheaper)

Hope these ideas help you save some money on gifts without sacrificing the WOW! factor. As you noticed, I pretty much used the same supplies, but just changed up a few decorations here and there. So, something as simple as finding that right wrapping paper, (or in my case, cellophane) and choosing just 2 rolls of ribbons, so can do so many different looks together! Happy Shopping and Giftwrapping!

opting out of my clover corner!

Olivia Castle