With the Christmas party season upon us, you’re probably crunching for cheap Christmas gift ideas for your friends. After all, you want everyone to feel loved — but you’re not willing to spend thousands of pesos on each of your barkadas. Thankfully, affordable doesn’t have to mean insignificant. In fact, we’ve found a few cheap Christmas gift ideas that will likely brighten up your friends’ holidays!
Also read: 15 Christmas Gift Ideas for Your LDR Loved Ones
Cheap but meaningful Christmas gift ideas for your friends
1. This scratch map for the avid explorer
Price: From ₱75
Where to buy: Lazada, Shopee
Perfect for your travel buddies, this scratch map will help jet setters keep track of their trips around the world. All they’ll have to do is scratch off the top layer of the regions they’ve visited to reveal the colours underneath.
2. This aesthetic wall art for urban travellers
Price: From ₱69
Where to buy: Shopee
Here’s another cheap but meaningful Christmas gift idea for your friends who love to travel as much as you do! These wall prints display vectors of some of the most loved cities in the world: New York, Barcelona, Paris, Toronto, Sydney, Copenhagen, and London. If any of these destinations remind you of a certain person, then you can get them a poster that will feed their wanderlust — even from home.
Also read: Support #ArtPH: 18 Young Filipino Illustrators to Commission for Portraits!
3. This handmade resin bookmark for bibliophiles
Price: From ₱60
Where to buy: Shopee
Thinking of a simple gift for your friends who still unapologetically read paperbacks? Get them this handmade resin bookmark made with real flowers! You can even message the seller for custom designs. You can choose colours and flower variations and add flakes, chunky glitters, and words.
4. This Y2K bead name bracelet for your old friends
Price: From ₱30
Where to buy: Shopee
Still friends with your barkada from the ’90s? You can give them nostalgic bead bracelets with their names! You can pick different variations of beads — the shop offers bold and vibrant colours, cute pastel shades, and monochromatic hues. You can also ask the seller to add daisies and smileys to brighten up the bracelets!
5. This simple friendship bracelet with a pendant
Price: From ₱85
Where to buy: Shopee, Lazada
If you prefer giving your friends a simple bracelet, you can choose from the various pendants this shop offers. Aside from cute charms like planes and bikes (which can be symbolic of your friends’ hobbies), Quirky Avenue also has pendants with affirming mantras engraved. So here’s a cheap but meaningful Christmas gift idea: give your BFF a reminder that “life is a gift!” and they should “find joy in the journey.”
6. This vanilla lotion bar shaped like a rose
Price: From ₱100
Where to buy: Shopee
Sanitising our hands is important, yes — but it also leaves our skin dry. So now more than ever, hand moisturisers are a must! Give your friends these lotion bars that are handy (pun intended), healthy, and eye-catching. Made of sweet almond oil, cocoa butter, beeswax, and vanilla fragrance oil, this handmade lotion bar naturally moisturises and nourishes the skin. It gets bonus points for coming in cute shapes, too!
7. This handmade memo pad that you can personalise
Price: From ₱50
Where to buy: Shopee, Lazada
Thinking of a simple but unique Christmas gift idea? What about a memo pad personalised with your friends’ favourite elements? Katsootudio on Shopee makes cute memo pads that can be customised with designs of your choice.
Also read: 11 Personalised Items & Gifts That You Can Order Online
8. These keychains engraved with Spotify barcodes
Price: From ₱80
Where to buy: Shopee
Do you share similar music tastes with a friend? Then these Spotify keychains can be a cheap but meaningful Christmas gift idea for them! Make the gift even more special by curating a playlist that reminds you of your friendship — then, ask the seller to transform this playlist into a keychain. This is the modern version of the mixtape, everyone! (Bonus: The seller gives a free box for every two orders.)
Also read: 8 Portable Bluetooth Speakers That Cost Less Than ₱700
9. This hand-cranked wooden music box that evokes nostalgia
Price: From ₱95
Where to buy: Shopee
Go timeless with a music box for a gift. While this may seem like an effortless present, music boxes that play sentimental music have their charm. This particular product comes in a variety of songs — from the classic Bohemian Rhapsody to the iconic Harry Potter theme song.
10. This vintage style letter for friends who love handwritten letters
Price: From ₱29
Where to buy: Shopee
Have a friend who loves handwritten letters? Maybe you want to write notes to your barkada but don’t want to use typical stationery. Maybe you like the charm of DIY but feel like you aren’t artsy enough. Then, you can ask for help from Marahuyo on Shopee.
Marahuyo offers to make handwritten notes for you. One order includes an envelope, a jute string, a vintage-style paper, and a wax seal. And in case you’re not confident about your handwriting, the seller can even write your letter for you!
Also read: 10 Useful Gifts That You Can Buy Online for Under ₱500
“Cheap” can mean “meaningful” if you find Christmas gifts that will remind your friends of how much you love them. We hope this list helps you find budget-friendly tokens for all your loved ones!
All images credited to Shopee and Lazada.