Grace Cavanaugh ~ Copy Editor
November is officially here! The Walgreens I work at is already stuffed with Christmas items, and I have yet to do my present-shopping. Now is a good time to think about gifts, because before you know it, it will be that gift-giving season!
As a college student, though, you may not be able to buy presents for everyone. A solution that I use every year is creating something for my friends that are personal to them. While listening to your favorite holiday tunes, here are some ideas for excellent holiday presents.
- Paintings. Michael’s had a sale on thin, small canvases that I painted black and then decorated for a bunch of my friends. I decided to do their name in their favorite color as well as their name’s meaning and some song lyrics that reminded me of them.
- Secret Santa. Instead of buying or making a present for all your friends, start a secret Santa or white elephant list. There are lots of great websites where you can put in the emails of all interested parties and it will send out individual emails to tell people who they have. That way, you are only responsible for one present instead of 20.
- An “Open When” Letter. A few years ago, someone I knew did this for her friend, and it was super creative. She asked his other friends to write letters too, so we did. I included some Polaroids in mine because it was an “Open When You’re Feeling Lonely” kind of letter. It’s a sweet notion that the receiver can use for years to come.
- Pictures. For Christmas one year, my best friend got me a photo frame with a bunch of pictures of us. While they included a whole stack behind each frame, you could just print out some pictures on paper and get a frame from Dollar Tree as well. It is the sentiment that counts, not what you have spent on it.
- Personalized Origami. Paper folding is a fun but frustrating hobby to have, but it all pays off in the end. If you know your friend’s favorite color and animal, you can easily find some folding instructions online and make them a little trinket.
If my list shows you anything, it should tell you that it is the thought that counts when it comes to gift-giving. People love personalized, heartfelt gifts, even if it is something small. And, as college students, most of these ideas are cheap and non-time consuming.
I would say “Happy Holidays”, but considering it is not even Thanksgiving yet, I will instead end with a festive, “See you next week!”