From ROHO to MOHO: Christmas shopping on a budget

By Asra Shakoor on December 6, 2012

My favorite time of the year has again approached. Whilst I am all for the lights, Christmas trees and snow, I certainly am not looking forward to all the presents I have to buy or my next bank statement. Most college students have college loans and are jobless. It is difficult to buy luxurious gifts, and so I thought it would be convenient to suggest ways to save money on Christmas gifts.

Top 10 ways to save money at Christmas:

  1.  Make your own gifts- whether it is baking, origami or knitting, use up your talent to make the perfect Christmas present. If you do not have a talent with arts and crafts, look to your computer. Create a video, a picture slide show or a board game. Sometimes the best gifts are the ones in which the most effort was put.
  2.  Narrow down the number of people you actually need to buy gifts for- only put the people for which you have to give presents.
  3.  Set a budget- calculate the maximum amount of money you are willing to spend on presents and stick to that price range when buying them.
  4.  Look online- there are many discounted online prices for many stores and sites such as eBay  and Amazon.
  5. Make the most out of pre-Christmas sales- many stores still have their Black Friday offers online
  6. Buy in bulk- if there are offers on a certain item when you buy it in multiples, take that offer and save money on both people!
  7. Set up a secret Santa with friends- most of your friends will be in the same boat. This will enable you to buy one decent present and receive one also!
  8. Decide on a budget between friends/family- by setting up a maximum spending limit, your friends/family will not be disappointed when receiving their gifts.
  9. Create your own coupons as presents- offer to babysit, wash the car, make dinner, proofread an essay, clean the house and so much more! This is a great gift for family members especially.
  10. Make a donation in their name- yes I stole this stunt from “Friends”, but there is no better time to remember a charity than at Christmas.

 Nobody has high expectations of Christmas gifts from students. You are only a student once, so make the most out of minimum spending!


Christmas lights in New York.

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