Gift On A Budget

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Sometimes it can be hard to choose the right gift for a loved one when it comes to Birthday's or even Christmas. My mum recently celebrated her birthday and she created a very small list, small enough that there was enough on it just for her husband - my step dad - to purchase for her. On that list was a box of chocolates, I had no intention of purchasing just a box of chocolates for my mum, especially since she was turning the big 40 (I wrote in her card that she shouldn't worry, because 40 is the new 20) and came to the decision I would create a beauty box for her. My mum is a senior carer that works mainly night shifts but days too, so I decided a beauty box full of pamper treats would be nice for her to indulge in. 

Beauty boxes can be very inexpensive or expensive depending on what you choose to put inside. With Christmas coming up, my sisters 18th, a big bunch of family members and two kids, I had a tight budget, but at the same time wanted to spoil my mum. You could do the same, choosing his/her favourites or just some new items they've never tried. My mum's not chose any of the items apart from the wine in her gift, nor has she tried any - except the chocolates - Lindt Lindor are hard to resist.  

Click to enlarge.

When your creating a beauty box you end up with a load of bits and bobs, usually half the time ones that are hard to wrap. Wrapping paper being quite thick paper, makes it even harder to wrap. So I got this lovely, butterfly tissue paper from my local Tesco' and wrapped the majority of the products inside it. It just makes it more fancy and a little more of a surprise for the person who will receive it. My mum loves butterflies if you haven't already guessed. 

Going back to my 'gift on a budget' I was really happy to find I could get up to 90% off products at The Body Shop. They had a sale section with 50% off then I got a code with for an extra 40% off on top of the items in the sale plus non-sale items too. Of course I popped over and was surprised at what I managed to come away with. 

Vineyard peach body scrub - 200ml. £12.50 I paid £3.00

Satsuma shower gel/cream - 250ml. £4.00 I paid £2.40

Sweet lemon whip body lotion - 250ml.  £8.00 I paid £2.40 

Sweet lemon beautifying oil - 100ml. £9.00 I paid £2.70  

(I bought one for me and one for my mum)

Raspberry shower gel - 250ml. £4.00 I paid £1.80

Normal Total £46.50

Total Paid £15.00 excluding postage Savings Made £31.50

So I made some great savings, got my mum a decent brand of beauty products and great sizes too. It's always a good idea to look around, you can really save money by looking online and comparing prices. Look out for sales too. 

I ditched the box idea and went for a beauty goodie bag, again with my mum's beloved butterfly print again from my local Tesco'. I bought chocolates £3.50 - not because there my favourites, though I may steal one. My mum's a bit of a chocoholic (it's where I get it from) So I know she'll love this Honey and chocolate candle, I wasn't keen on some of the scents of others I looked at, though it was hard to smell, because I had a cold. But this one smelt gorgeous and once the Lindt chocolates are gone she can indulge in some sniffing of this instead, it was a bargain at just £2.00 and half price RRP £4.00. Then one of my mum's favourite wines which was just over £7.00. I couldn't resist adding a birthday touch and popping this large birthday badge in her goodie bag.

I spent just little of £30.00, including everything I've talked about in this post (yes, tissue and gift bag included and the cards). 

I actually started doing this last year, for my sisters birthday. I love putting products together and creating a beauty box or beauty bag full of beauty goodies. You can create anything or put anything in for any celebration newborns, new mums, Christmas and more. It's nice to have a personal touch, with messages or photo's in frames. The idea's not the newest and been done before but I hope you all find inspiration from this post to create you own unique gift of treats.