Relatively Inexpensive Gift Ideas

They say it's better to gift than to receive.  That's true if the gift you receive sucks.  Sometimes it's hard to buy for other people like coworkers or new friends or people in your significant others' family who you don't know well.  When it comes to people I do know well, I take notes all year.  If someone tells me they love Frenet, that info goes into memo in my phone.  Then when the holidays roll around, I know what to get for them.

Here are some of my favorite gifts to give and/or receive:

• Liquor.  If they don't like it, they can regift it, bring it to a holiday party for others to enjoy, or keep it for their guests.
• Frame a special picture of you together in a cool frame.
• Bath stuff.  You can make this a bit more personal by creating a little gift basket with bubble bath, a small bottle of champagne or liquor, a candle, a single packet of a beauty mask, a cheesy novel, and label it: "A Night to Yourself" or "A Quiet Night In" or something like that.
• A special dish with the recipe.  One of my friends knew how much I loved her mango salsa, so she gave me a big jar of it and I loved it.  Another cute idea is to bake cookies and give them on a Christmas plate.  One of my coworkers at my old office job once gave us all fancy mugs with packets of gourmet hot cocoa idea in them.
• Simple, pretty stationery.  Another coworker gave me some gorgeous blank cards made from recycled paper.  Any time I need a blank card, they are there and I don't have to run to the store to get a card.
• For fitness freaks, I love the Grip Pad gloves and a cool water bottle.  They are more sanitary than the typical weight lifting gloves.  http://www.gripad.com/
• If you're totally at a loss, you can alway go with gift certificates.  Movie passes, Itunes gift cards, Starbucks...Or Christmas stuff.  Christmas candles, ornaments, figurines...if they don't like them, they only have to look at them once a year.