Christmas 2012 Gift Ideas (Many Frugal) for Your Partner, Husband, or Wife

The usual suspects mentioned above are all wonderful, provided you change the brands a bit over the years (or, then again, not, if you prefer to stick to certain brands). Others here on Wizzley and elsewhere have written about them, and done a great job of it. I’d like to focus on electronics and custom-made Zazzle products instead.

To go back to the title of this section, “pricey” means different things to different people. If you can afford $520 and your boyfriend / husband or girlfriend / wife loves photography and has been using cameras in the semi-professional range, then you can surprise him or her with the Canon PowerShot SX70, which shoots 4K video and has an optical zoom of 65X. If $500+ is too much, I recommend a similar camera from Panasonic, the Panasonic Lumix  FZ80, which is also 4K and has an optical zoom of 60X. Colors vary though a little between the brands, so take that into consideration as well. I own both Canon and Panasonic Lumix cameras, and I personally prefer the Canon brand. This latter camera, though, is great value for the money: only $297.99 as of my writing this and its megapixel count is comparable to the Canon camera one (18.1MP to 20.3MP). Pick your choice! One of these cameras can be the perfect gift if your budget is between $300 and $500-$520.

If your significant other likes to read, watch movies, and play light computer games but you can't afford to spend more than $100 or $150 then you may consider getting him or her the Fire HD 10 tablet, which has a 10.1” Full HD LCD screen, 2 cameras, front and back, with HD video, 2GB of RAM and 32GB or 64GB of storage.

Or if you can spend $250 and you want a tablet that offers a much better experience watching movies and playing computer games, you can opt for the Lenovo Tab M10 Plus tablet, which comes with a great 10.3" Full HD screen, 8MP rear and 5MP front cameras, 4GM of RAM and a Octa-Core processor of up to 2.3 GHz main frequency, and 128GB storage.

While tablets are great for travels, sometimes you just want a bit of peace and quiet when you're on a plane. If your partner is often on business trips, you may consider getting him or her a set of noise-cancelling headphones.

The Cowin E7 active noise-canceling headphones are popular with buyers on Amazon.They are great quality yet budget-prices. At the time of my writing this they get an average of 4.4 stars on Amazon out of 53K+ reviews. While there are better products out there, including the Cowin E7 Pro, at under $50 these seem to be the best value for the money. They are also light and quite comfortable. And did I say they also come in great colors?

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If your partner or spouse loves art and likes to buy prints for your home, you may surprise him or her with original art or prints. One of my favorite artists, who sells her prints for up to $300 and her original works for up to $500, is Georgiana Chitac. See for yourself. I'm showcasing an image below, which you can buy on Saatchi Online here. The work is titled Scattered and involves a whole lot of socks. :) To see more of her works, go to her blog here.

Some people collect (and wear) shoes, other people collect (and wear) watches. There's then the third category of people, who don't have a whole lot of shoes or a whole lot of watches, but are glad to receive either as a gift.

If you're buying shoes and boots online, I recommend you go for a comfortable shoe, since these are the easiest to get right. And with Clarks you can't go wrong in terms of either comfort and style, so if you'd like to buy footwear for your partner or spouse you may want to look at Clarks Women's Chris Sydney Boot, in burgundy leather, or black, sporting a style that's in fashion this season.

You can try leather shoes for your male partner too (and brands like Ecco have nicely designed comfy shoes) but I think guys are always happier with an extra pair of sports shoes (sneakers, running shoes, and so on).

As for watches, Invicta has a really nice design out there for a men's dress watch, that even includes two straps, black and brown, to match your outfit. Invicta is a Swiss timepiece maker dedicated to bringing great design on the market at great, affordable prices. As of November 15, 2012, the Invicta Men's 12849 Lupah watch shown below is number 9 on the list of bestselling watches at Amazon.com.

In the women's watches category, I like a particular design from Swiss Legend, from their South Beach Diamond Collection, the 20032D-01. It's silver-tone and diamond-accented and with a silicone strap. It's sporty and yet elegant. With the right outfit and accessories, it can even be worn as a dress watch. As of November 19, 2012, it sells for $69.99 on Amazon -- perfect if your gift budget for her is around $80, and a great addition to a set of presents for your girlfriend / wife is your budget is larger.

Surprise your girlfriend / wife with an elegant leather laptop tote / carryall from Solo. It fits a 15-inch laptop (it has a padded laptop section) as well as other items, and is made of real, quality leather. Color is espresso, which is to say a rich, dark brown.

It's a perfect gift for any professional woman who has to dress elegantly for the office and also needs to tote her laptop around. But this is a great handbag at a great price regardless of its laptop-holding functionality.

Handles are large enough for the bag to fit nicely under your lady's arm.

At $59.84, it's a bargain. (Down from $99.99.)

Roamans Tweed Skirt Suit for Under $40

A fabulous Roamans tweed skirt suit for plus size women sells for only $38.99 – down from $129.99. It’s a great design for office wear for curvy women. The cut is simple and elegant but by no means boring. I love the lapels and the folded cuffs of the jacket, as well as the design of the skirt. The skirt has an elastic waist and partial lining. And the fabric itself is wonderful in terms of pattern and color. Now is the time to renew your office wardrobe, or to buy this skirt suit for the office Christmas party if you’d rather wear a suit there than a dress. Comes in sizes 14 Plus – 34 Plus.

Elegant Roamans Skirt Suit for Under $30

Another item I really like for Roamans that comes with a great discount this holiday season is a skirt suit where the jacket comes with a lace border print. You may want to wear this 2-piece set to the company Christmas party. At only $26.99 instead of the list price of $89.99, it’s a steal. This used to come for all sizes between 14 Plus and 34 Plus, but is now out of stock for most of them. You can only find it now for sizes 14 Plus, 18 Plus, and 32 Plus. I guess women out there are seizing the opportunity to be truly elegant this holiday season for less than $30 – unbelievable! I wish there were similar designs and prices for lowers sizes as well, but I see these deals at great office wear or elegant skirt suits only from Roamans, which, as you know, designs for plus-size women. And they do a great job!

Everyone has a different sense of humor, so search on Zazzle for a Christmas-themed coffee mug that you know your partner will like. Mugs are always great frugal gifts, and small enough to work into a series of fun stocking stuffers for both men and women.

Tard (Tardar Sauce, from Tartar Sauce) the Grumpy Cat is the latest Web sensation. Photos of this kitten traveled all around the Web thanks to YouTube, Reddit, and other social media channels. Then the owner started making custom products with their loved, albeit grumpy, cat. So if you like this meme, you can get mugs, totes, magnets, and even playing cards on Zazzle with "the Original Grumpy Cat."

My two favorite Tard the Grumpy Cat mugs are below:

"I had fun once. It was awful."

"NOPE"

There's also a mug with just the photo of this celebrity kitty.

Spreadshirt has put out a Grumpy Cat Hates Christmas men's T-shirt. It shows a drawing of a Grumpy Cat with the Santa hat on. The Grumpy Cat T-shirt comes in several different colors.

Gildan has made a women's T-shirt with a stenciled drawing of a Grumpy Cat. It looks pretty good.

The Tard the Grumpy Cat Christmas cards are here at last!! They were posted on Zazzle on December 7, 2012. One of them says "Merry Christmas," and the second reads "Bah Humbug." See below.

If your boyfriend / husband or girlfriend / wife likes to read, then the right book may be a perfect frugal Christmas gift for them. Especially when it’s part of a number of presents which you carefully selected (and wrapped separately)! Keep in mind that many people appreciate getting a series of presents. It’s all about the surprise of discovering one after another under the tree, and knowing that the other person took the time to think about various things their loved one might enjoy. If you go down this route of getting your partner a set of presents, then a book is a great choice to include among your frugal gifts. It doesn’t have to be Christmas-themed.

You may choose to get your partner or spouse one of the year’s bestsellers, or a book by an author you know he or she likes (but then it might be difficult to find out which books exactly by that author your significant other has read). If you’ve discovered an author together this year, then this is a good occasion to show your partner that you two are seeing eye to eye in a growing number of matters, not limited only to practical ones.

If your spouse is a writer, working on a novel and various short stories, you might consider getting him or her a short-story anthology. The Best American Short Stories 2012 is out, edited by Tom Perrota (author of Little Children) and Heidi Pitlor. The stories in this selection have appeared in American and Canadian literary journals between January 2011 and January 2012. Tom Perrota spoke of the criteria he used to make up the anthology in the following terms (as noted by one Amazon reviewer): "I like stories written in plain, artful language about ordinary people. I'm wary of narrative experiments and excessive stylistic virtuosity, suspicious of writing that feels exclusive or elitist, targeted to readers with graduate degrees rather than the general public, whatever that means."

Is that the kind of fiction your partner likes? This short story collection should be interesting to him or her either way, since these stories "written in plain, artful language" (to my mind, the trick is to achieve both at the same time) "about ordinary people" seem to be the ones favored by editors, at least where short stories are concerned.

The Best British Short Stories 2012 anthology, edited by Nicholas Royle, doesn't seem to be popular on the American Amazon site, but the book is available there, and will make a nice complement to the American short story anthology. I own the 2011 British anthology, also edited by Nicholas Royle, and have enjoyed it quite a bit.

There's a whole range of great custom mugs for writers on Zazzle. I'm showing only one of my favorite ones, with the statement "To write or not to write: Is that a trick question?" It's a great play on Hamlet's "To be or not to be," but what I like most is the tag-like question "Is that a trick question?" Indeed, most people who write for a living or as a hobby do this because they have found a vocation. They are compelled to write. True, you may not always write out of inspiration when you have to churn out a copy for work, but writing, true writing, is a passion, one that takes hold of you -- and so it is that "Is that a trick question?" becomes a rhetorical question, one that needs no answer. So offer this mug as a gift to that special one in your life who is committed to his or her writing!

But then again, your wife or girlfriend might not be as much into reading about art as into making her art. I know, I'm not making things easy for you. But then again, you're the one who knows your partner best. If she is good at painting watercolors and owns an iPhone 5, chances are she will appreciate an iPhone 5 case showing a box of watercolor paints. This would make a great gift for a fun and outgoing girlfriend, as well as for an artistic boyfriend of course.

Your partner or spouse might like this colorful Case-Mate Vibe iPhone 5 case even if she or he works with other media as a visual artist, be that oil paints, textile design, or photography -- although if your partner is a photographer, he or she might appreciate more an iPhone case with the image of a camera lens.

If your partner has children, it's a great idea to get something for them as well. Here are some clothing items that come with bargain prices this Christmas.

It's a great way to say I may not have much, but I love what I'm doing, and I'm getting there! And if your partner has gotten there to where he or she makes more money with computer programming, they will still appreciate the humor as they think back to a time when the statement "Will Code for Food" was true. This is also a great gift for a geek friend who slaves away at the computer or is now owner of his or her own IT company.

If your partner is not a caffeine junkie and does, in fact, prefer decaf tea, then South African rooibos tea is a great choice. This is a herbal tea and therefore caffeine-free. It is high in antioxidants, so if your partner is not particularly fond of green and black teas because they contain caffeine, he or she may like this tea as an alternative drink to boost their immune system. Rooibos tea also has soothing properties, and therefore makes for a perfect bedtime tea. Which is not to say it puts you to sleep. It's a great tea to enjoy throughout the day.

Besides its health benefits, roiboos is simply rich and flavorful, with a full-bodied aroma that will delight anyone's taste buds. You can drink it hot or iced, straight or with milk. I have mine with milk and honey. Few drinks can match that great, smooth taste.

Davidson's organic rooibos tea, at $12.71 for 100 tea bags, is a great buy for the price and quality. (Note that the prices on Amazon may change a little from day to day this holiday season, so don't expect them to match to the cent the prices I give you in this article.)

The rhinestone in the middle comes in several colors. At only $10.99, it's a fun and very useful Christmas gift that won't break your budget. It's also small enough to make for a great stocking stuffer.

To my mind, music CDs and DVDs are some of the best gifts you can give someone. Of course, you need to know their musical preferences. One of my favorite artists is Leonard Cohen.

If you’ve been to a concert together, then celebrate that by buying a live in concert DVD for your partner. You’re buying it for yourself as well; most of all, you’re buying it for you as a couple, to remember the great time you’ve had together at the concert and to make a point to save money and time for similar experiences in the future. If you haven’t seen your partner’s favorite artist in concert yet, get him or her a concert DVD and make sure you buy a ticket next time around.

Also, if your partner likes classical music, there's a book out there you should know about. It's The Book of Musical Anecdotes, by Norman Lebrecht. There are hundreds of bits in it about the greatest composers and performers. It's a book any classical music lover will appreciate. It's also great for literature and psychology lovers. The stories are illuminating not only about the lives, times, and personalities of great musicians of the past, but also about human lives and psychologies in general.

The US has many beautiful national parks and a whole array of scenic drives that beg to be discovered. If you like to save your money at Christmas in order to use it to travel next year and enjoy beautiful landscapes by foot or by car, go for a frugal gift under $20 like one of the guide books shown below, which sell for as low as $10. They would be a fun frugal gift committing you and your partner to spend more time hiking, trekking, and driving through beautiful landscapes in the US and the rest of the world.

These guidebooks, with their inspiring photography and details on the hikes / treks / trips suggested would make great Christmas presents for your family and friends as well if they're outdoorsy.

Another frugal gift that many people will appreciate is a Christmas ornament. Choose a design style that you know your partner will like. He or she may like the vintage angel illustration below. Or, if it’s your baby’s first Christmas, you may choose to celebrate that with a personalized ornament showing a photo of your child and the year on the front and his or her name and the year on the back. It’s a great gift that you can give each other as parents, or one that you can give to other close members of the family.

You can buy baked goods, but some women might prefer to take the opportunity over the holidays to bake more than usual and offer their own baked goodies to her family and friends. Wine and cheese, on the other hand, is always a good idea if your partner likes wine.

You can buy an Amazon gift card, but then again, your partner will appreciate your Christmas gift more if you put more thought into it, make the choice yourself, and surprise them. Then again, other people like to buy their own gifts. If your partner falls into the latter category, get him or her a gift card but make sure you give them other Christmas gifts as well. This way your partner will learn to appreciate your thoughtfulness more, and open up more to what you offer him or her on other occasions as well.

You can give her body lotions. The Body Shop has a nice selection. My favorite Body Shop fragrance is Shea -- as in shea body butter, shea shower cream, and shea soap. The Body Shop Shea products' scent is so light and yet so fragrant. From my experience, having taken friends into The Body Shop to smell this lotion, it appeals to a broad range of tastes in fragrance. You can also get your lady a Shea Shower Cream. Although it’s hard to go wrong with lotions and shower creams, particularly with very good ones (and these are remarkably good for the price, I think, and are also free of certain harmful chemicals), if your lady has wonderful, fragrant silky skin all the time, and is passionate about her lotions and skin treatments, then leave it to her to get her cosmetics as she knows best.

Surprise your partner not only with a nice gift or set of gifts, but also with their presentation! Amazon has a whole range of wrapping paper designs. I'm showing you two of my favorite sets, from Dover Giftwrap.

I hope this article has given you some ideas for gifts to give your partner this Christmas!