No money for Christmas gifts? Here’s a guide to putting together your own giveaways

Silvia Prócel likes to give details “of the heart”. This is how he defines those gifts he makes with recycled instruments, items he finds at home or certain complementary items that he goes to buy.

She performs this practice because her income is not enough for the “common” gifts, such as clothing, technology, shoes, among others. It says that these kinds of gifts, besides not being so expensive, transmit another message.

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“With love you can give a gift without spending so much money, and even more so now, when finances are very low. I like to give gifts to almost my entire family, but for other types of gifts I could no longer”Says Silvia, who budgets about $ 1 for each detail.

She plans to give boots made from plastic bottles to her family this Christmas. He plans to decorate them with ribbons, fabrics and make decorations with fomi. And wait to fill them with candies and chocolates.

The idea with this type of gifts is to save, according to specialists, especially when the scene becomes complex, in situations in which the citizen has reduced his salary, lost his job or simply because the priorities are different.

“This option is very valid now with the pandemic, where some of us have liquidity in our income. The details created depend on the budget and can be for family, friends … “, says the economist María Lorena Saragosin, who indicates that other citizens may have this practice in order to allocate resources to savings.

With this agrees financial consultant Paola Aulestia, who indicates that this alternative could be more used as a result of other scenarios, for example, those who will now pay more income taxes, according to the new Tax Law. And also that it is not only for Christmas, but on other dates, such as birthdays.

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“It is an alternative. There are people who, with different conditions, choose this, to generate these gifts from the heart and a smile to the other person ”, he expresses.

Aulestia also mentions another factor: putting aside the thought of “the more expensive the gift, the better.”

“Gifts can symbolize love, importance and respect, and have an additional value when something is done by oneself: it comes from the concept that it is only a transaction,” he says.

These gifts are born of creativity, assures Sebastian Haro, entrepreneurship expert. Advises to create personalized agendas. For example, the front and back covers can be made of cardboard and covered with fabric of the preferred color; They can be decorated with pictures made of fomi, such as a reindeer or Santa Claus, or print a sticker, of which are shared on WhatsApp.

Sheets will need to be purchased bond and sew them with a rope. And to give it a plus: write a dedication, which, according to Haro, can be printed in an elegant typeface and add the name of the person to whom the gift is made. No more than $ 3 would this present cost.

“They are easy to do at home. They can also be done jars filled with sweets”, He says and adds that you can glue some eyes on it, make the shape of the nose and put the horns on as if it were a reindeer. The value of this detail will depend on the sweets that the citizen buys.

There are other options, explain Stephanny Escobar, Gift Making Expert. She suggests a hanging picture. A card is required, which will be cut in a circle or square, depending on taste. About this I know They will glue the previously printed photos and they can put phrases using markers or ties made of paper of any tonality. Nor would it exceed $ 3.

Meanwhile, there is alternatives where nothing is spent and that, according to Escobar, are those that leave the most memories, such as writing a letter or editing a video with mobile applications and a song in the background.

Both Saragosin and Aulestia consider that this type of present has an impact due to the time dedicated to preparing it and the message to be transmitted. For instance, place a photo with the phrase “the family is closer together”, after having gone through difficult times due to the pandemicsays Saragosin.

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Aulestia mentions that another of the gifts are the acts of service, how to prepare a dessert for someone else or, if someone is studying or teleworking, pass them a glass of water without expecting it.

“This detail allows me to save money and it is a detail of love. Is to go back to the simplest things, practical and small of life, but that are significant”, he says. (I)