A friend of mine recently asked for help coming up with hostess gift ideas for 6 ladies that were throwing her a shower. Easy, right? Well, not so much when she says that her budget is between $60 and $70 in total. At that point I could have easily pointed her to the $10 Starbucks gift cards but that's not the southern giftologist way, and I knew we could find something local and/or creative within this budget. At some point we all are faced with finding gifts in this price range - hello, white elephant or secret santa gifts during the holidays?! And so I present 5 ideas for gifts that come in at $15 or less - for those times we need to gift on a smaller budget:
1. Tin candle from Southern Firefly. The Grapefruit Mangosteen is one of my favorites, but they have several scents to choose from. These candles can also be found at several stores around Nashville or on Southern Firefly's website. Pair with a decorative box of matches to complete the gift!
2. Travel-sized laundry products from Roux Maison. Elevate the laundry game by gifting a couple of these trial-sized products. Sold in sets of 3, you can order a couple and mix and match depending on the recipient. Choose from stain remover (supposed to be one of the best), scented detergent, delicates detergent or swimwear detergent.
image southern giftologist
3. Fun office supplies from Poppin. Yes, I realize this is my second post to mention this company and no, I don't work for them, but they ARE one of my go-to sites for gifts. And who doesn't love office supplies in bright, fun colors?
4. Shopping lists or notepads. I love the ones from Rifle Paper Co. and Southern Fried Design Barn both of which I have seen at Green Door Gourmet. Add a recyclable grocery bag, tote or a decorative hand towel and you have yourself a useful gift.
Hand towel and notepad from my personal collection
5. Last, but certainly not least, consider giving the gift of local food products. There are so many wonderful companies out there making delicious products that could (and likely will) fill an entire blog post alone, but for the sake of space on this post I'm only going to mention a few. Two of my go-to places for local products are the Batch Shop at the Nashville Farmers Market and Green Door Gourmet.
- Box of Willa's Shortbread cookies or bag of Nola Granola and a fun snack bowl from West Elm or Anthropologie
- Jar of Nashville Jam Company jam or TruBee honey accompanied by a pretty spreader, spoon or loaf of fresh, artisan bread
- Bag of Soberdough bread mix and a bottle or two of local beer (one for the mix and one for drinking while the bread is baking!)
- Six-pack of local beer with a bag or two of Sweet Meat Jerky (great guy gift!)
Local goodies I purchased at the Batch store
So there you have it - some of my ideas for gifting on a budget. If nothing else, I hope I've helped spark an idea or two of your own or introduced you to a new product or store that can be a resource for your gifting needs.