It would be around a few weeks before Christmas, and most of us would thinking about what kind of gifts that we would give this holiday season.

Philippine economy is affected by the downfall of US crisis, but still, even though the high priced commodities that Filipinos buy every time the holiday season comes mostly empty Juan dela cruz’s pocket, Christmas season wouldn’t be complete without gift giving and sharing.

I remember back then on my schooling days, where kris kringles are always a part of the holiday season come the first day of December. Remember the different themes like for Monday is something long, then Tuesday is something sweet, and then Wednesday is something weird, and so on until the kris kringle finale on Christmas Party.

But this time even if there is no kris kringle, gift giving is still a part of a Pinoy’s Christmas Season, Christmas wouldn’t be complete without it, and since there is no kris kringle anymore, there won’t be any themes on what gift to give, and there won’t be only one person to give your gift with, actually there would be more people abusing the saying “its better to give than to receive” because they are always on the “receive” part of the saying.

Giving and receiving gifts are easy but choosing which gifts to give is another story, I have many ideas on what gift to give but with a tight budget, the long list of ideas becomes short. Short enough that you would have more time thinking rather than wrapping.

So I’m gonna begin to list the first part of my ideas for gifts this Christmas season. Subscribe to my mailing list if you want to catch the series of gift lists that Im gonna be posting until the end of the advent.

COOKIES

Yup, cookies. Most often than not, its one of the last on the options, but when food is on the line, it is one of the best. Bizu Cookies or Marks and Spencer Cookies are one of my top choices when it is about cookies. It costs around a hundred bucks plus it comes with a paper bag so it is ready to be given as a gift. These branded cookies separate normal day to day cookies to seasonal cookies for gift giving.

PICTURE WITH FRAMES

This one has a wide variety of kinds to choose from, like have it drawn, have it cartoonized, have it drawn in pencil, have it drawn in painting, charcoalized, a collage is good, a photo mosaic is great if you are a bit techy and want something different then a digital photo frame is for you.

If you are tight on the budget then you can opt to go to recto for the drawn images, sometimes it comes on package, complete with frames and varies from the size that you want.

And for the digital photo frame, I think it is available in a stall in SM North EDSA second floor, and of course if you are budget sensitive then you can purchase a way cheaper digital photo frames from CDr – King.

The possibilities for this kind of gift are endless. Ideal specially for your loved ones, relatives, or your own group of officemates or friends.

PERSONALIZED BALLPOINT PENS / SIGNPENS

Whenever I hear personalized pens, the first thing that comes to my mind are Parker Pens. Yup, Parker Pens are branded pens, and known to Pinoys as expensive pens. But not anymore, Parker Pens have cheaper ones available already which ranges around 250.00 PHP and above.

Sometimes when holiday season comes, they have this promo of 3′s for the price of 2, or in short, buy 2 take 1. The good thing about it is that first, Parker Pens are branded, They can be personalized (its free), and even though it performs like any cheap pens out there, it is still one-of-a-kind. You can buy Parker Pens at National Bookstore Outlets.

PERSONALIZED KEY CHAINS

Key chains are good, if you have many persons of you list. Its cheap and can be personalized. There are a couple of stalls on malls that does this personalized key chains, or you go to divisoria for a cheaper option of personalized key chains, may it be cartoon characters, names, or whatnot. Have them bulk for a much cheaper cost.

SCENTED CANDLES

This gift works specially for the ladies. We know it’s a bit pricey to buy big scented candles, but an option would be at 168 mall. There is a stall there on second floor, near the escalator I forgot which wing it was, but the only landmark I can remember is it is near the escalator. You can ask the guards or vendors there where to find scented candles. Once you found it you will be surprised by large number or scented candles available there with different shapes, sizes, colors and of course smell, and the bottom line is that it is cheaper than the scented candles you would find on signature booths on mall. Of course, ordering in bulk would be a lot cheaper.

These are some of the great ideas that you can give for the coming holiday season.

To be Continued…

Watch out for the Part 2 of the Cheap Christmas Gift Ideas.

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1. My 2011 Christmas Gadget Wishlist