by T Kane

Created on: July 23, 2009

Tis the season to stressfully scramble around trying to find the perfect generic gift to satisfy all 20 of your coworkers. This endeavor is hard enough but now try to do it without maxing out your MasterCard. Before you resort to duct taping candy canes to used Christmas cards consider these five inexpensive gift ideas that will please everyone at your office.

1. Christmas mugs with specialty cocoa or tea. You can easily find the mugs at your local dollar store. Then just get a big box of cocoa, coffee or tea and divide it up. Or if you are really feeling festive check out some recipes online and make your own cocoa mix.

2. Can you bake? If so then homemade cookies are a great way to go. Once again you will be able to find decorative tins at the dollar store. Then just bake a big batch of cookies put them in the tins and voila, you have a thoughtful yet cheap Christmas gift that everyone will appreciate. Of course it you don't know your way around the kitchen, or simply don't have the extra time you could always buy a pre-made cookie dough and just personalize them through decorations.

3. Christmas ornaments. These can easily be personalized and will really make the receiver feel special, like you put a lot of thought into their gift. Get ornaments with their names or even better get one that matches their interests or personality.

4. Give them a Christmas cactus. They can live indoors all year round and are incredibly easy to take care of. Almost anyone can make these plants live for years, even if they don't have a green thumb.

5. And finally my favorite idea, donate to a charity. Instead of spending money on a gift that they don't really need just give it to a charity in honor of them. Most charities will either send cards to the person you choose to honor or give you the option to print one out or e-mail a card. If this isn't an option you could always just give them a Christmas card and inside state that you made a donation in their honor and explain a little about the charity. Think about the recipient and what would be close to their heart. For example if Sue lost her mom to breast cancer you may want to donate to this cause or if Joe is a doting father perhaps donate to a children's charity.

So it is possible to get gifts for all of those colleagues without breaking the bank.

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