Now that Thanksgiving is over, the most wonderful, and expensive, time of the year has come around. Christmas! Classes are winding down and it is time to go home to the chaotic family, which means you have to start thinking about presents for people. As you start to think about the fantastic gifts you would love to give your family and friends, then you begin to wonder where all that money is going to come from. However, there are a lot of ways to give your friends the perfect presents for Christmas while still staying on your budget. Here are five tips to get you started:

1. You can always bake a nice holiday treat for your friends, like cookies or peppermint bark. Homemade treats are the perfect present to give to multiple people while staying on budget. If you are not that into cooking, then go to the store, pick up a few premade Christmas treats and put them in a cute box. You can customize it to each person and it looks like you put in more work than you actually did. Every person around the holiday season will love your Christmas cookies, so you can not go wrong with this gift.
2. If you have a crafty thumb, make your friends and family a present from scratch. This is a very sweet idea because it will remind them of a time when you were not away at college. You could make a photo collage of past memories with your friends or family, or take a photo with your family and frame it. If you want to get really crafty, go to a local craft store, get some cheap fabric and handcraft a blanket or scarf for your family.
3. Take your friends on a road trip. This way, you guys can have a great adventure while still spending the holidays together. Make sure to bring your blankets, hot chocolate and your skis to have a blast up in the mountains together. This way you can say you are taking your friends on an awesome road trip, while not really spending any money. They will think you are the best friend ever and you did not even have to spend a dime.
4. If you would rather stay home this holiday, get your friends and family sweet stocking stuffers such as mugs, hot chocolate packets and fuzzy socks. You can not go wrong with comfortable presents for your friends. If you want to get more personal, make a whole gift bag of cute small presents, especially if you are going to a secret Santa party.
5. Go out shopping with your friends and family, see what they are interested in, then go find it online for a lot cheaper. If that is still out of your price range, then go for an idea that is similar to the gift they had in mind. The thought alone of getting your friend or family something they really wanted, or something closely related, goes a long way. It shows you take an interest in what they really like.

No matter what you choose to gift your loved ones this holiday season, simply being with people who you love and who love you is a present enough. Enjoy the holidays and have a Merry Christmas rams!