Christmas present for a broke friend?

faithcecilia

After staying with my friend this weekend and seeing how much debt she is in etc, I have started to think about what to get her for Christmas.

I'd like to get something that will either help her or convince her she needs to help herself. So far I have considered:
Nicotine patches - NO!! Would almost certainly be the end of the friendship!
A Tesco delivery
Tesco/Sainsburys giftcard
A Hamper - but they all have nuts in and she is allergic
Terrumundi money jar (I was given one when I decided to confront my debt and loved it, was really strict and it was with very mixed feelings I finally smashed it.)
'Another' money box
Cash (but I hate to say, she would probably buy cigarrettes...)

Any other ideas would be very welcome!

Evie82

How about make up your own hamper?
Stick in it a budget cook book to give her some hints, some nice treats/chocs/wine along with some more basic essentials maybe?

faithcecilia

Evie82 wrote: »

How about make up your own hamper?
Stick in it a budget cook book to give her some hints, some nice treats/chocs/wine along with some more basic essentials maybe?

That is s really good idea, except I will not be seeing her and it will need to be something that can be delivered straight to her, or posted easily. Should have put that in the first post, sorry.

floss2

How about a home made "book" of "vouchers" for redemption? Such as a home cooked meal, IOU for a bottle of nice bubble bath, promise to help her decorate a room etc?

Or what about looking on the internet at things like Good Gifts? They can be posted direct and start at a reasonably low cost too

sparkle83

As someone who is almost always broke at xmas, the tesco/sainsburys giftcard sounds brilliant

98sidney

You could still make up your own hamper and just post it yourself.
Dont forget to include a money saving book as well as a home made invitation to this site..
Like giftcard idea..

MrsAnnie

I think is depends on how broke your friend actually is!!

sparkle83 wrote: »

As someone who is almost always broke at xmas, the tesco/sainsburys giftcard sounds brilliant

If she is really broke ie struggles to put food on the table a Tesco/Sains gift card is a fab idea and should be well received and not stuffed in a draw and forgotten about .

Minimum_Wage_2

hello everyone,
my first question is has she brought this on herself or was it something she had no control over like losing her job? this would have given us a better idea of what you can get for instance, if it wasn't her fault then clothing vouchers, or even take her shopping, giving her money might help her a lot. if it was brought on by herself then the present would have to be something that would have to be spent on that thing.
If you get her a hamper then she might feel guilty and have to get you something in return. You cant go far wrong with getting her food vouchers but that could free up some money where she would buy fags anyway. i think it would be better to get her clothing vouchers

faithcecilia

I think I am leaning towards a Tesco/Sainsburys voucher...though I would love to get her a terramundi jar because they are lovely:p Sadly my own budget, while improving just now, won't stretch to both.

Rummer

When I was very skint one year my closest friend sent me a fabulous food hamper filled with all the nice xmasy things I would not have been able to buy like xmas pudding, mince pies, brandy butter, crisps and nibbles as well as a couple of bottles of booze. I was so overwhelmed that I burst into tears and I have never forgotten it. If you are close the supermarket voucher is a great idea however if you would be uncomfortable doing that then a hamper would be great.

daska

Would it be possible to do a DIY hamper via a supermarket delivery? I'm just thinking that I do online shopping and have it delivered to different addresses so maybe that's a possibility. Is this the friend in Southend - I took the liberty of checking and Waitrose in Southend does deliveries... OK, so it wouldn't be prettily wrapped but it would allow you to include some fresh choices as well.