Help - what to buy rich friends with no money!

[Justsayit123]

Got great friends and have been invited to theirs for Christmas Day. However, they are likely to get us expensive gifts probably costing a few hundred each and we can’t reciprocate. Plus there is 5 of us and 3 of them. They have harrods tea bags like I buy sainsbury red label! Any suggestions of what I could buy which is nice but not costing the earth?

I’d go with the photo idea, maybe a collage of photos in black and white?

It's why we need a budget really. If they're talking spending hundreds per head there would be an imbalance even with a relatively generous gift

Oops!! Wrote that and didn't send ages ago! I love the idea of a fruit tree

Ooh - how are you buying a nice hamper (container) plus enough to fill it from F and M? I think this is complete fantasy - but please correct me!

Last time I looked, any nice hamper cost well over 50 quid, and a small pot of honey from Fortnum's was nearly £20.

I like the idea of hampers, but even if you fill it with home-made items and a few deli buys, you are still looking at a lot of money to make it look at all special.

Why not make something drinkable. Buy a bottle of spirit and pour into a kilner jar. Add a split vanilla pod. Shake it daily for a week or more and decant into a lovely bottle, or decorate the jar. Also, look up Sloe and Damson gin recipes (these also work with vodka) though you will have left this too late for this year. A hand made present is infinitely better than anything bought over the counter.

My expectation of Christmas is spending time with friends and enjoying it, we don't do elaborate gifts for anyone, I make sloe/damson/ Xmas pudding gin, sweety vodka, Christmas cake/pudding (made with best friend at my house, we each share the cost of ingredients etc) quick pickles , pickled sprouts (as I said previously) German style gingerbread biscuits. No adult "needs" a present. They are your friend who wants to spend time with you, please don't overthink this, it just takes the joy away.

Generic box or container (you don’t have to get an fortnums box for it to go in and their empty wicker hampers are ££ when you could pick one up from a charity story for not much). Then there are quite a few things that are £5-£7 and if you go in store you can get pick and mix chocolates / sweets to add, which will add to the total amount of items if you are looking for quantity.

A quick search online shows you could get 7 items for £40 - including tea, honey and biscuits (and not the cheapest items either). For something more simple - a bottle of their house red, damson cheese and then some crackers is just over £20.

These obviously are not ‘cheap’ but more inexpensive than a posh candle and possibly would be appreciated by a family who apparently have Harrods tea bags.

Their online hampers are ridiculous money and it is not worth it if you can’t actually go into the store as the selection online isn’t as large I don’t believe (and postage is £6!) It’s not super market prices but not wildly different to farm shop prices for some items.

If OP wanted to spend less than £20 or wanted loads of items in the hamper then agree probably stretching it for a hamper idea.

Clearly a lot of people wouldn’t appreciate this, fair enough and have noted their names in my book not to buy them anything from Fortnums!

Love these if you can’t bake: https://www.biscuiteers.com/biscuits/getting-into-the-spirit-gift-box if you can then maybe make something similar 😊

Great idea. I host Christmas and we also have most of what we need. Gifts my guests have given me which I’ve adored - single origin olive oil from a farm in Tuscany. Large planter full of orchids. Homemade hyacinths planter in a beautiful old tureen. Graham & Beck Sparkling wine. Large bottle of truffle oil. Homemade marmalade. Bottle of Harris Gin. Italian Chocolate covered clementines. Good quality smoked salmon. Artisan cheese and Peter’s Yard crackers. Soho House candle or diffuser. Anything posh and consumable… Nothing the impinges on their taste.

I get fed up of buying for friends for the sake of it. I suggest going for a meal or cinema or something similar in lieu of presents.

I have stopped buying for friends children - and tell them early on. I have a big family so it just mounts up with half a dozen+ friends children to buy for too.

Theyre such thoughtful gifts - I have to say I’m not sure how many of my friends would appreciate that!

Sponser a child with the Vencat Trust.

Your Christmas sounds lovely

What are pickled sprouts like

@2024riot thank you! ( Even more simple this year I'm housebound recovering from surgery) but everything is in place, my partner needs to do one post office drop for a few letters/cards for a few people who would be upset without a "christmas message"
Pickled sprouts are white vinegar water and pickling spice , F&M did them originally , a bit of trial and error led to something similar tasting, just a bit different and go well with cheeses, cold cuts etc

A nice bottle of wine and a good family board game. It really is just the gesture that matters. I’m sure they don’t expect anything fancy from you and you certainly don’t need to try and match the value of gifts that you receive from them.
We have a very wealthy family on my husband’s side and they buy us presents of a value we can’t reciprocate (or at least are not willing to, if we want to be able to go on a nice holiday and save for university costs). It’s fine, everyone understands that we’re not all equally wealthy and so we all buy gifts at a level we’re comfortable with and nobody feels bad.

Maybe something personalised? Shows you have thought about the gift in advance even if it didn’t cost a lot x

Something personal and heartfelt I think.

Perhaps a signed book by an author they like, a nice coffee table book that will suit their interests, a framed photograph of a nice time you had together, etc.

I would definitely just bring a present for the house and may be cute original gifts for the kids if they have any. I visited a Christmas market recently and was amazed about the quality of things on sale and the prices. The presents I got are so pretty and look much more expensive.

What about a present for the tree or table? Something small and personal and comes out each year. I still think your friend just wants to spend time with you

Suggestions under £25

I'd go with something like this and stick it in a nice bottle bag.
If they are loaded you will have trouble getting them wine on a budget, so why not look for something a little different.

https://www.fortnumandmason.com/fortnums-winter-sparkling-tea-75cl

Costs £20, you can feel like it's posh enough to gift them as it's from Fortnums.

That particular one is their Christmas version so it does contain some alcohol, but they also do a sparkling tea or rose sparkling tea that contain no alcohol at all.

If you get the regular sparkling tea, you can get it with a personalised label for an extra £2 so you can put their names or a short message on the label to make it look special.

If you want/need to go cheaper for £8.50 you can get their 75cl bottle of cider.

https://www.fortnumandmason.com/fortnums-mulled-cider-with-english-cassis-2204711

I'd be really happy to get either of those as a present (even though I've already got a case of the sparkling teas as they are our Christmas day drink of choice).

They also have 50cl bottles of Chocolate Chestnut Liqueur, Figgy Pudding Liqueur for about £25 each if you want to spend a little more, but they are smaller bottles.

edited to add
If the third one is a child, I'd get some of their Christmas coal (honeycomb covered in chocolate and black sherbet).

Good idea.

You can get small jars from B and M for pennies.

Do you want some ideas?

Chutneys are easy to make as are pickles.

Get a large bottle of olive oil then here are a couple of things I do / have done.

1. A piece of feta cheese and a jar of mixed dry herbs. Sprinkle the herbs on a work top or chopping board and then press the cheese on to it, the cheese will pick up the herbs. Cut in half and press the 'cut' edges into the cheese, keep cutting and pressing until you have pieces about the size of a couple of leggo bricks.

Put in a jar, top with olive oil, tap to get the air out and put on a lid.

2. Get pitted olives, they can be a jar or from a deli or a tin. One or two mushrooms, half a bell pepper, a peeled garlic clove and yo could add anchovies or capers but you don't need to.

Slice everything (except the garlic) finely and put in the jar, again fill with oil and tap the air out and put on the lid.

3. peeled garlic cloves in a jar and top with olive oil.

4. add some whole spices (black, green and pink peppercorns, mustard seeds, onion seeds) to a jar, and you guessed it, tap the air out and put the lid on.

All of the above can be done now and will just taste better with age.

Shortbread is also easy to make.

You can make a syrup of sugar and water, let it cool. Put peeled fruit in a jar and top with the syrup.

I'm that friend that likes to spoil others because I now can. What I love and apreciate from others are my favourite cadburys bar of chocolate. Cream eggs. Homemade cake. Flowers or plant especially if hand picked from garden. It really is the thought that counts. Someone has thought about me and what I like x

The secret Santa with a price cap idea is a great one! I would suggest this

https://www.wonderbly.com/uk
personalised books ?

Then that's very sad for you!