What do you give as a ‘little something’/token gift?

[AmberSpyware]

I have lots of relatives who buy for my children who I like to give a little something with a Christmas card…but there are quite a lot of them!

I have previously done panettones (around the £11 mark) or bought a couple of cases of wine and split them up- but just looking for a bit of inspiration.

No allergies, all drink, or have said they appreciate having bottles to take to a party at short notice- I don’t have any time to bake.

Budget around a tenner!

I have just brought my closest neighbours the Walkers Christmas Spiced Shortbread which come in a red christmassy gifting tube - it was £5.99 and I added to that the Lindor Christmas cracker which was £3.50. Together they make a lovely 'red themed' gift which I will put in a gift bag with tissue paper to hand to them with their Christmas card.

Got both from Amazon.

I bought some of these little bookmarks, each one with an initial and a season. I really liked them and they look more thoughtful than they cost. £6.79
https://amzn.eu/d/2TnEkNx

A book and a bar of chocolate to eat while reading it.

Oh god this is the bane of my Christmas life 😂
ended up being so many ‘token presents’ that I now just spend money on a decent present for the person rather than spending a tenner on something they wouldn’t want or use.
it would be easier if people just stopped buying for the kids!

Plant or flowers.

Sometimes they are left at my grandparents house so the ‘relies’ can collect as they nip in- so flowers would die and would worry about plants going funny. Should have said!

Get your kids to make a handmade ornament for the tree or something, you can do wonders with some pipe cleaners, glitter, pinecones etc.

Are we talking about the same thing? I don’t really understand how buying a ‘decent present’ is going to be most cost effective or easier for me!

I am giving gifts to older couples and families- joint. Not individual tokens.

Just need something nice to hand over with a Xmas card- like a panettone or a wine bottle or maybe a nice preserve.

This is a nice idea for friends, thank you

Or get some plain tea towels and do kids handprints/ festive designs whatever. Even if they hate it, they won’t say so if your precious babies made it!

Festive coaster and a mug.

We pack all away for next year!

A poinsettia. They look so festive.

Went for this! Wanted it sorted and will be used (I know for sure!)

onestopchillishop.co.uk/collections/the-christmas-gift-ideas-collection/products/jam-packed-or-chilli-mash-company-or-3x-190g-or-festive-chilli-jam-gift-set

Maybe not! There are a lot of people we decided years ago to just get for the kids but they go quite overboard with spending on them and it doesn’t feel right to not get them ‘something’ in return.
I used to get a token generic tenner gift but it ended up being a mad dash and I realised what I was buying probably wasn’t wanted or needed so I have reframed my thinking and now just buy what I consider a ‘proper’ present and call it a day!
It’s not cost efficient but I don’t feel like I’m wasting money at least.

@Sminty2 those bookmarks are gorgeous.

I’m struggling a bit with this too - the dc are now teens so we’re well beyond handprints, home made ornaments and photo gifts.

I’ve done candles, and naice olive oil in previous years.

My trickiest giftee is diabetic, tee total and far more skilled at crafts and gardening than I am.

Nice ground coffee and cafetiere?

i thought so too. Thanks.

For someone who is really talented at gardening, I am giving some really unusual seed packets from Plant World seeds. I just picked the random looking ones 😊 They have seeds for veg, flowers and trees. https://www.plant-world-seeds.com/store/flower_seeds/perennial_flower_seeds

I see the OP is sorted and it's a bit late for this year, but I would buy hyacinths, paper white narcissus or similar bulbs and pot them up. Hold your nerve and you can buy the bulbs at a steep discount just before the season ends (soak for 24h if they look dry). Cheap pots in bulk from b&Q or similar, tarted up with Xmas wrapping paper. Keep cool and dark until you need them. Dose paperwhites with alcohol to stop them getting too leggy. If the budget permits then hippeastrum are a bit more unusual.

@GooseyGandalf Would your awkward giftee enjoy a calendar with classy photography? Joe Cornish has fabulous landscape photos, generously sized (reflected in the price). John Muir Trust also has great photos, but smaller (not quite A4) to keep the price down. Woodland Trust pics look nice, but I can't vouch for the quality of the paper and reproductions.

I got posh hot chocolate stirrers for this purpose one year, from Sarah Burton, I got the idea when I was given one myself.

Scratchcards & Lottery Tickets

A tin of biscuits- but a really pretty tin!!!

Bulbs for spring
A book and coffee gift card
Scratch card
Lip balm

Green and Blacks assorted mini chocolate bars. In a lovely pack around a tenner. Or Hotel Chocolate.
Or a bottle of processco with a big fancy bow tied to it

I’m assuming they like chillis ! Nice gift.

I definitely think that edibles are the way to go. (And by edibles I mean biscuits, chocolates etc, not as a poster on another thread was insisting that edibles only referred to particular recreational drugs 🤣).

These