It would be wonderful to have the time and creative energy to come up with unique and useful gifts for everyone on your Christmas List. However, most of us need a bit of help in the present idea department. Pinterest and Instagram have a ton of way better present pics than I can ever dream of coming up with on my own. So, for this year’s gift-giving season, I’m looking at a variety of sources for inspiring ideas for gift purchases. Here are just a few that I’ve found useful for the holidays.

My first resource for gift ideas is my real-life best friend, who gave out mulled wine kits. Last Christmas, my BFF, bought everyone on her over-21 gift list a bottle of $10 red wine, then made up spice cachets with lemon zest, cardamom, and cinnamon. She included a sidecar of honey and printed up instructions on how to make mulled wine and wrapped it all up in super-cute rustic gift bags. By rustic, I mean paper lunch bags with leaf stamps and ribbon ties. What makes this such a great idea is two-fold. First, mulled wine is an easy DIY gift that feels very thoughtful. Second, it’s fairly inexpensive; because once you make up one spice cachet you have the ingredients for several more. So, to our mutual friends out there, you’re getting the same thing as last year!

If your best friend is not the gift-giving genius mine is, then try a word search on Pinterest. Yes, you can also Google, but I find the results can be bulky and lean more toward retailers, than just simply good, general ideas. On Pinterest, I merely typed “Christmas Gift Ideas” which led me to a pin titled “21 Super Thoughtful Gifts For When You’re Broke” that then took me to a listicle on Buzzfeed with great gift examples for Xmas and beyond. The majority of the ideas recommend personalizing your gift. Like printing a favorite recipe on a cutting board, hand stitching the route of a road trip on a map and framing it, or adding Scrabble tiles to a framed photo for a special message. That last one DOES mean you won’t be able to play Scrabble, but you can always put a new Scrabble set on your Amazon Wish List for someone to gift to you this season.

Speaking of Amazon, it’s an excellent source for gift ideas. If your family and friends have already picked out things they’d like and saved them on a Shopping List, then you’re all set! Sure, there may be items they’d buy for themselves anyway, but you can save them the hassle and order it on their behalf. My Amazon list is brimming with books and beauty products, and I would be happy to be gifted any or all of them (hint, hint).

Catalogs are another excellent source for gift ideas. Through various mailing lists, I receive some random catalogs in the mail, and, while I usually don’t make purchases, I love browsing through them. For items that catch my eye as potential presents, I search for them online for a better deal, or for something similar. From the Signals catalog, I saw this “Tree of Life” essence oil pendant, which is a necklace that doubles as aromatherapy, which is right up my Mother-in-Laws alley. At $39.95 it wasn’t that horribly expensive, but on Amazon (yes Amazon will be taking over the retail world here soon), I found it for $14.98 and ended up buying two for a second person on my gift list. Even if you don’t buy a replica of a particular item, you can still cull gift ideas from catalogs, like the idea of gifting jam that I got from The Vermont Country Store catalog, or the idea of novelty “wine socks” for my girlfriends from LTD Commodities. So, before you toss those unsolicited catalogs have a glance through for some unexpected inspiration.

If you’re on a budget, and who isn’t, then consider letting deals and discounts dictate your present purchasing. I’ve been getting emails and fliers with discount codes from my frequented retailers like Old Navy, Macy’s, and Tiny Prints. From these, I’ve started my gift shopping, even going so far as to send links to family and friends and ask what they want from the sale. For online stores, many of which offer a discount on your first purchase, I’ve been signing up for newsletters to get even more deals and checking out the sale section of the site before browsing new arrivals. Of course, don’t feel pressure to buy because of a deep discount. Black Friday sales have led to more buyers-remorse than is humanly possible to record. Yes, saving more than you spend can be quite tempting in the moment, but ask yourself: Is the particular item you’re about to score such a great deal on, really a gift your loved one would enjoy or find useful?
Of course, the main thing to remember is that the holiday season is not just about gift giving. In fact, that’s more of a side feature when it comes down to it. No matter how you celebrate, the most important thing is to take the time to cherish your loved ones, those you can share this time of year with, those that are far away, and those that live in loving memory. Time together is truly the best gift.