10 Priceless Gift Ideas That Will Cost You Little to Nothing

Some of the most priceless gifts I’ve received in life are the simplest. Imagine if you could instantly find a way back to a happy memory, recreate the emotions of a magical time, or find a way to capture and mark a moment as noteworthy. Well, you can, and I'll make it super easy for you. We each can generate these moments for others and trust me, it's an excellent feeling. Why? Because it shows the other person that you paid attention, remembered a particular time, and that you do not take moments created together for granted.

There are probably hundreds of priceless gift ideas that cost little to nothing, but here are a few of my favorites.

1. Menu from a restaurant

Back in my college days when I studied abroad, I went on a day trip to Nottingham, UK. I had one of the best memories with new friends in the UK's oldest pub, the Ye' Old Trip to Jerusalem. Truth is, I had such a good time that I wanted a memento to remember that day. So, as a penny-pinched college student, I snagged the card-stock menu. It had a charming vintage look with the name and photo of the pub on it. Until recently, it was hanging on my kitchen wall in a beautiful wood frame. Hanging it on the wall of my apartment years later allowed me to share those memories with new friends so I could keep them alive. While this was a gift from me to myself, you can do this for others – whether that is a first date, a proposal, an occasion when you were given great news, or really connected with someone. Now, I'm not suggesting people go around stealing menus from restaurants every time (only occasionally). But, I bet if you called a restaurant with a compelling story, you could convince an owner to send you a menu free of charge, or for the cost of postage.

2. Coaster or matchsticks from a bar

You know those cardboard coasters you get at the bar? Or, the matchsticks they keep on the host table as you walk out. If you had a good time, put a coaster or two in your pocket. Make sure it isn’t stained or dingy. In fact, if you have to walk over to an empty table to snag one, do so. These things are best when you hold on to them and then just put them away until another select date. Perhaps a time when you want to remind the person of that extraordinary moment. Pull the match sticks out to light a candlelight dinner. Or, use the coaster as you serve a drink. Or, place both together in a pretty box with a letter sharing what feelings caused you to snag them in the first place. The magic is in restating the emotions felt and remembered from that evening. Was it an intuition that this person is going to be in your life forever? Or, was there something you felt that day that you wanted to bottle up forever? If so, share it.

3. Cork from a bottle of wine

You are probably starting to see a theme here. I'm not going to repeat myself too much because, hopefully, you are beginning to get the idea. But I'll add one thing about a cork from a bottle – you can either save one special cork or several corks for every special moment. Corks can be written on and kept for years. One tradition my family has is to have each family member sign a cork from a bottle of wine we open up each Christmas. Once everyone signs it, we date it and place it in a special jar to be saved for generations. We have no clue what will happen with it, but it has become precious with memories, and I'm sure it will gain more appreciation with time – much like old wine.

4. A penny

If you find a shiny penny, keep it. I recently was at a cute boutique store in Mill Valley,

California, where they sold these simple cards with famous quotes on it or inspirational sayings. The card was enclosed in a plastic wrap with one single penny. This inspired me to create my own. Get some beautiful card stock, and either type or handwrite a message. This can be from the heart, or a meaningful quote that someone already took the time to polish and write. The penny is to go with the thought. The famous idiom goes, “a penny for your thought" ... a way of asking what is on someone's mind when they seem preoccupied. However, in this case, you are giving a penny with your thoughts. You may have also heard of lucky pennies that you can share with a wish. Either way, the penny adds monetary value – complimenting the words that should hold more significance and weight. Think about this for a get well wish, kid’s birthday, a good luck message, or thinking of you gift.

5. Origami Paper Crane

Who has read Sadako and a Thousand Paper Cranes? Well, if you haven't, it is about an inspirational little 12-year-old girl who develops leukemia caused by exposure to the atom bomb dropped on her city, Hiroshima, Japan, after WWII. While in the hospital, Sadako learns how to fold origami cranes and believes that they are a way to grant wishes. I was in third grade when I read this story, and I learned to make paper cranes in class. I still find the tactical nature making of origami paper cranes quite enjoyable. What I love even more is passing them on to others with my own wishes for them. You can use origami paper if you have it, or also strip out a colorful page of a magazine. These make great ornaments, hospital gifts, or just ‘thinking of you’ tokens.

6. Old Newspaper Clipping

Okay, this one is a bit more difficult because it requires you to have held on to or saved a newspaper clipping. Or, a visit to the library that has microfiche (yes, they do still exist). Most local or county libraries, or records offices hold old articles. You can find just about anything if you put your mind to it – housing lists, marriage announcements, death announcements, headlines about businesses opening…or closing, or being bought. Consider printing the clipping and framing it for someone as a walk down memory lane. This can be a powerful gift for the elderly, or your kids enjoy opportunities to connect with their grandparents or parent's past.

7. A piece from nostalgic clothing

I love smelling my mom’s old Kanchipuram silk sarees. They do not make silks so soft and with such delicate gold embroidery anymore. When she is done with her sarees, I will preserve them by creating something new from the old -- a throw (razai), scarf (dupatta), or use the embroidery on a new blouse or dress. Is there a piece of clothing that you hold sentimental? What would it be like to pass it on? If it's tattered, is there a button, a part of lace, or embroidery that you can share forward?

8. A stone or shell

When I was a kid, I used to collect beach stones and sea glass from the beaches I visited. In fact, I used to have all shapes, sizes, and colors. They were placed on my windowsill as a prized collection. Each stone or piece of glass had a memory attached to it. Next time you are on a beach vacation or walking through the woods looking for a bit of nature that you can take home with you to remember that day, that walk, that path. Stones or glass can be a perfect gift if you share them with a note or memory or think about gifting a rock as a milestone. You can actually write the date and use it as a milestone in the future. For example, I once gave a stone to a friend to mark our 10 years of friendship with the dates 2000-2010. It was a simple gesture on the anniversary of our 10 years of friendship and cemented the sentimentality of it all. The rock wasn’t sentimental, but I found a beautiful stone and made it emotional by writing on it.

9. A finger or paw print

There are so many different ways to capture fingerprints – with plaster, with ink. You can use one finger or a whole palm. There is something authentic about fingerprints – perhaps it’s the fact that it’s a one-of-a-kind genetic mark. It can create the feeling you are preserving a piece of someone else at that time – whether they are the little feet of tiny humans or the paw print of your fur baby. You can frame prints to create beautiful keepsakes. Now, there is a fine line between making this look like an elementary school project and something exceptional. Think about what you can do to dress it up – pretty paper, high-quality frame, matte borders, etc.

10. A glass jar filled with favorite memories or date nights

Neither my husband nor I have time to plan date nights. We both are busy professionals who tend to extend ourselves throughout the week until we find ourselves all of a sudden looking at each other on Friday nights. We can only go to so many happy hours and or dinners, and so we decided to create a mason jar full of popsicle sticks. Each popsicle stick has a list of activities. It could be a themed movie night, a visit to a bookstore, trying a new recipe together, whatever. The rule of the jar is that when we resort to the mason jar, we have to do whatever is on the stick we randomly draw. This is a natural gift to give a couple or a loved one who craves more time with you or is eager to shake up status quo date nights. It reinforces your commitment to spending time and shaking things up.

Another way I've seen a jar used is as a memory jar. On my bachelorette night, my best friends put together a mason jar of their favorite memories with me. They each took time to write out their favorite moments on pieces of paper that they folded up and placed in the jar. I would reach in and grab one from different friends with different memories. To this day, I still find it great to go through and pull it out when I miss my friends.

Here are also some thoughts on the delivery of gifts, because it is as important as the gift itself…especially ideas like the above ones that have very little monetary value but priceless sentimental value.

1. Make sure you time it right – these aren’t’ the types of gifts you hand over and let it do its thing; what you are sharing could be emotional for the other person so anticipate their reaction and make sure you set them up for success to receive your sentiment.

2. Create space for the unpacking of the gift – even if it isn’t wrapped, you want to say something about it or give them the space to read the card that goes with it.

3. 1:1 and personal settings are best – most of the items above may be connected to something very personal that the other may not appreciate you bringing up in front of everyone; so try to get the person alone – it will also make it more intimate and bespoke.

Now, I must put a few disclaimers out there to ensure this doesn’t go wrong.

First, please don’t try to pull this off for every birthday or every holiday. It will get old fast. And, please be SURE that the moment was actually noteworthy and joyful – not your cousin sister’s son’s bat mitzvah or the 23rd date you’ve been on where nothing happened. You get the point.

Second, I, for one hate clutter, and when I receive gifts like this, they are sentimental but also can create more stuff. That's why I do one of two things, I either put it in my memory box, which is a large shoebox, where I keep sentimental notes, objects, and stuff given to me. Or, I take a picture of it and store it the Cloud under happy memories. That way, I keep the priceless value of the gift, and the item itself, which is of little to no cost, can be put away or disposed of once they have served their time.

These are just a few of the ideas that are top of mind for me. If you know of others, please share by leaving a comment below.

Love, Sahana.

#gifts #sentimentalgifts #pricelessgifts