Story by Haley Brink, Staff Writer
Photo Courtesy of Huffingtonpost

Freaking out over what to get your friends and family without breaking the already broke college student bank? Don’t worry, there are plenty of gifts for every type of person on your gift list.

For gifting, you have two options: make something or buy something. If you are a crafty kind of person, these next few gifts will be for you.

First crafty gift to make: sharpie mugs. If you go to the dollar store and pick up a plain colored mug and some sharpies, you’re practically done. Draw on the mug or do something fancy with dots and letters then pop the mug in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Don’t take the mug out. Just let it cool in the oven for a couple hours and you’re done. Personalized mugs are good for virtually anyone who drinks some type of warm liquid.

Another gift that is good for those with the affinity for art is the oh-so-easy hot cocoa mix in mason jars. Put some hot cocoa mix at the bottom with some marshmallows on top, put the lid on, and tie a bow around the lid. Hot cocoa is good for friends who don’t have kitchens readily available. This is equally as good if you use cookie mix or brownie mix. You can even get fancy and make a dry soup mix. Either way, anything in a mason jar looks fancy, so you can’t go wrong with some kind of mix.

For those of you who would rather buy something, here are a few gifts for you to look into. On-the-go coffee mugs are wonderful for almost everyone. There are nice ones at Target for under $20.

Who hasn’t gotten socks for Christmas at some point? Socks are in though. Not just your usual fuzzy socks and normal socks, but special socks. Bath and Body Works has really nice aloe vera-infused socks.

Lastly, food. Everyone loves food. Whether you’re artsy or not, this is for you. Go pick up your friend’s/sibling’s/significant other’s favorite snacks, put them in a brown paper bag with some string wrapped around it, write “brown paper packages wrapped up in string, these are a few of your favorite things” (The Sound of Music 1959) on it.

About the Writer…

Haley Brink is a Sustainable Business major with minors in communications and writing. She is passionate about the environment and how she can make an impact on the way people treat the world they live in. She someday hopes to learn to photosynthesize. She also enjoys attempting to recreate foods she finds on Pinterest.