What you get for the money - 100 gifts for $600 with little or no shopping required

Cost Effective Options for giving great Christmas Gifts - Our challenge 100 gifts with a budget of $600.

What a fun challenge?! One of our clients called and asked us to help them give 100 gifts with only $600 to spend. Well, it wasn't long before we realized it seemed like an almost impossible task to give 100 people a gift that they will actually want AND use. The additional requirement is that each gift had to be very little effort (which automatically excludes crafty types of gifts or home-baked goods). So we put on our thinking caps and suggested a few ideas to our client. We thought we would pass this inspiration on to you.

Idea 1: Amazon Gift Certificate via email

Why not give a gift certificate to the world's largest retailer with a value of $5.00?

There are tons of designs to choose from and, check this out, you can order up to 400 gift cards at one time!!! So, you only go through the ordering process once and you don't have to manually individualize each gift certificate.

This is a great addition for those who send electronic holiday cards. It adds just a little something different and special.

Why we love this idea -- Recipients will get a really fun looking email that can be used immediately online. In addition, you can delay delivery so that e-mail gift cards can be scheduled up to a year in advance.

Check out Amazon Gift Cards online

Idea 2: Holiday Themed Favors When we say favors, most people think of weddings. However, useful favors are wonderful for any type of event or occasion. There are themed favors available, such as the ones shown here. This idea is best left for gift giving where the major concentration of recipients is in one local area. Otherwise, shipping costs will increase the cost per favor. Why we love this idea -- By nature, favors are manufactured to be personalized with a low cost per person. For example the petit fours which are $60.00 are for 30 sets with 3 petit fours per set. Check out more holiday themed favors	Holiday Tea Sachets $3.50	Mini Holiday Brownie Pops $3.75	Personalized Chocolate Bars $2.75
	Hand Painted Holiday Blown Glass Pens $6.00	Holiday Petit Fours $60 per set of 30	Holiday Photo Oreo $2.50
	Personalized Holiday Notebooks $1.30	Personalized Holiday Cookies $4.25	Holiday Travel Candle Tins $4.50

Idea 3: Movie Theater Experience

Recently, we shared an experience in which we planned an event in a movie theater. Well, it got us thinking, why not treat you and 99 of your closest friends to the movies? Pick a date and you can either rent out the theater or get a large group discount. We suggest seeing a movie that is family friendly. We also suggest sending the invitation now but choosing a movie date in January. Here are two family friendly movies coming out in January that may have universal appeal.

The Spy Next Door with Jackie Chan, Billy Ray, and George Lopez

Jackie Chan is set to star in "The Spy Next Door," an action-comedy which centers on a man (Chan) who is called to baby-sit his neighbor's children and winds up having to fight off secret agents after one of the kids inadvertently downloads a secret code.

The Tooth Fairy with Dwayne Johnson Julie Andrews Stephen Merchant

Dwayne Johnson is "The Tooth Fairy," also known as Derek Thompson, a hard-charging minor league hockey player whose nickname comes from his habit of separating opposing players from their bicuspids. When Derek discourages a youngster's hopes, he's sentenced to one week's hard labor as a real tooth fairy, complete with the requisite tutu, wings and magic wand. At first, Derek "can't handle the tooth" -- bumbling and stumbling as he tries to furtively wing his way through strangers' homes…doing what tooth fairies do. But as Derek slowly adapts to his new position, he begins to rediscover his own forgotten dreams.

Why we love this idea -- It is a community experience. There is no better gift than sharing a happy experience with other people. This type of event gives people the warm-fuzzies.