Last minute budget-friendly holiday gift ideas (Part 1)

 I don't usually run press releases but this weekend I came across two that were very informative (the first was the one about American Apparel's nail polish, which I ran yesterday) and today I want to share with you a press release I received from Rite Aid (if you've been reading my blog for any length of time, you know I'm a huge Rite Aid fan).

If you've got a Rite Aid in your town, this can be very helpful, but even if you don't have a store near you, there are some neat ideas here that you can use if you need to do some last minute shopping and you want the convenience of just popping in to your local drugstore (I don't know about you, but driving to the drugstore for gifts sure seems better to me than braving the crowds at the mall!).

Most of these gift bags and stocking stuffers are under $20 and some of them are quite creative! Check 'em out, and don't forget to read the extra way to save at Rite Aid (at the very end):

RITE AID OFFERS TIPS FOR LAST-MINUTE GIFTS TO MAKE ANYONE LOOK THOUGHTFUL

 

Creative Presentations of Everyday Items Make Personal, Fun and Inexpensive Presents or Stocking Stuffers

More than 4,800 Convenient Rite Aid Locations Offering Extended Holiday Hours

 

Camp Hill, PA (December 16, 2009) – It's not too late to find fun, personal gifts this holiday season as close as the neighborhood Rite Aid. More than 4,800 Rite Aid stores will stay open until 11 p.m. through Dec. 23, and many stores – including 24 hour locations – will be open Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

To make giving easy this year, Rite Aid has put together a list of last-minute present ideas to help shoppers wow even the toughest names on their shopping lists – all without breaking the bank. The first thing any last-minute shopper needs are the accessories to transform a present into a presentation: $22.45 (three-pack of seagrass baskets, $9.99; bag of 15 bows in various styles and colors, $2.99; multicolored tissue paper, $1.99; four-pack of ribbon, $2.49; pack of glitter pens, $4.99). Then finish the job by creating a personalized gift theme catered to the recipient's interests such as the following combinations created for personalities including: 

    * Aromatic Aficionados – Make a sweet-smelling gift by combining sample size perfumes or even removing the vials from one of several gift sets and stuffing them in a gift bag with colorful tissue paper: $15.47 (perfume/cologne sampler sets, $9.99-$21; individual sample scents, $2.49; decorative nylon gift bag, $2.99)

    * Pedicure Lovers – Although Rite Aid carries several prepackaged pedicure gift sets, it's also easy and affordable to stuff a stocking from scratch with the items needed for any pedicure. To really make this gift stand out, offer to personally paint the toes of the recipient by throwing in a hand-made gift certificate: $18.76 (two colors of nail polish plus top coat, $2.97; polish remover, $1.99; cotton rounds, $2.15; interlocking smiley face toe spreaders, $.99; 10-pack of emery boards, $1.99; nail file and shaper, $.99; Pure Spring body lotion, $1.69; pair of microterry slippers, $5.99)

    * Entertainment Enthusiast – Get a universal remote control and program it for a loved one’s television, cable box, DVD player, stereo or just about any other entertainment device. Then wrap it in the current issue of a TV/entertainment magazine – tack on a year's subscription if they've been good this year – and slip it in a stocking with a bow: $18.27 (universal remote, $9.99; four-pack of AAA batteries, $4.29; magazine, $3.99)   

    * The comfy-loving homebody (or anyone else all partied out from the holidays) – Fill a basket with movie theatre-style microwave popcorn, a DVD-rental gift card and the cozy gift sensation, a Snuggie. Or, for those with a love of the written word, substitute several best-seller paperbacks to tie in with the Snuggie's free booklight: $30.88 (popcorn, $.89; movie rental gift card or two paperbacks, $15; Snuggie, $14.99)

   * Car lover – Pick up a selection of wash and detailing products, arrange them in a plastic bucket and complete the effect with an over-sized bow or even a handmade gift certificate for the labor: $18.16 (pour-spout pail, $6.99; car sponge, $2.29; car towel, $5.59; high-foam car soap, $3.29)

    * College student or other on-the-go diner (with an on-the-go metabolism) – Grab a mini stocking designed just for gift cards and load it with cards for popular fast-food and take-out restaurants. Let them think you drove store to store for the assortment, rather than disclosing that you found them all among Rite Aid's one-stop selection of 200 retailers: $27.99 and up (stocking gift card holder, $2.99; gift cards for various restaurants in various denominations including $10, $15 and $20)

    * Bath-loving girls – Jazz up a children's blanket stuffed in an animal-shaped carrying case by adding a few bath items: $24.16 (pink blanket and pig shaped carrying case, $9.99; princess-themed seven-piece hair kit, $7.99; princess-themed berry bliss soap, $3.69; color-changing bath scrubbie, $2.49)

    * A newly resolved fitness buff – Get a collection of fitness essentials including a blank journal to decorate as a fitness log and wrap it all in a white towel with bow: $32.26 (white microfiber towel, $15.99; eight-pack of meal replacement energy drinks, $7.99; multivitamins, $5.99; journal, $2.29)

    * Any classic-candy-loving child (or child at heart) – Personalize a small red and white stocking with glitter glue pen and fill it with an assortment of nostalgic candies: $16.17 ($1, chocolate coins; $1, candy canes 10-pack; bag of prewrapped, assorted chewy candies and champagne mix hard candies, $3; six-pack chocolate-coated marshmallow Santas, $3; cola-flavored gummy candies, $1.69; holiday Pez dispenser, $1.49; 16-inch plush-lined stocking, $4.99)

    * Fans of Christmas Past – Use ribbon to tie a stack of nostalgic board games and classic holiday movies and soundtracks together for a truly experiential gift: $27.97 (classic holiday movie such as "It's a Wonderful Life" or "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," $12.99; family board game such as , $4.99; Thomas Kinkade holiday music sampler, $9.99)

    * The devoted dog lover – Pick up a pet bed and fill it with items that will pamper his or her pooch: $21.96, (Pet bed, $9.99; Snuggie for dogs, $9.99; four pack of rawhide chews, $.99; assorted chew and tug toys, $.99)

Shoppers have until Jan. 25 to participate in Rite Aid's Gift of Savings program by tallying receipts dated Nov. 22 to Dec. 24. Customers earn $5, $10 or $20 gift certificates based on total purchases from $25 to more than $100. For details and rules, see in-store brochures or go online to https://riteaid.rebateplus.com/holiday/.