Now that Thanksgiving has come and gone, ’tis the season for spending money, but many ASU students are looking for alternatives this holiday season.

The recession has hit business and consumers’ pocketbooks especially hard this year, and that change is likely to show in nationwide holiday spending.

Samantha Kyzer, an early childhood education freshman, said she was planning on saving money by continuing the gifts she started last year.

“I made scrapbooks and photo albums, photo frames, baked goods,” she said.

She also said she thinks homemade gifts are often a nicer option.
“I think you actually put your effort into it and you’re trying to impress [loved ones] instead of just buying something,” Kyzer said.

Molecular bioscience and biotechnology senior Amanda Courtright said she agreed that homemade gifts are often more valued than those bought in stores.

“Since it’s for my family it’s a little more personal,” Courtright said.
“It’s usually just buy whatever you can find that they might like and give it to them so, I think they might actually use it this year instead of stick it in the closet like they did last year.”

Since starting an unpaid internship this semester, Courtright has had to cut back on most of her hours at work with the city of Tempe, meaning money is tight.

She said she also plans to make gifts that are easy or that she can put together at the craft store, like baking or making picture frames.

Some companies have prepared for a tough holiday season economically this year, as many people cannot afford to buy as many gifts.

Michaels, the popular arts and crafts store, did a holiday survey in October.

The survey found that 68 percent of respondents said they were planning on making their own gifts this year and 87 percent said homemade gifts were more meaningful.

As a result of the findings, Michaels planned free weekly workshops that allow customers to make small holiday gifts in the store and bring them home.

The remaining projects are small trinket boxes, stockings, cards, bookmarks and holiday tags. The final workshop on Dec. 26 will teach attendees how to make New Year’s party hats.

Another idea some students are trying is “Secret Santa,” where family members draw names and secretly buy for only one other person.

Lauren Guidas, a marketing sophomore, and her family started doing Secret Santa last year to save money.

“We used to do it every year just in addition to giving everybody gifts, and then my close family and extended family would just swap names for something fun,” Guidas said. “But then for last year and this year we decided to do [Secret Santa] instead of getting everybody a big gift.”

Now Guidas, her immediate family and some of her extended family all participate.

“Christmas became too much about the presents when we were younger,” she said. “Now it’s more about getting something special for each other. It saves a lot of money for everyone and it feels more intimate.”

Reach the reporter at vajones2@asu.edu.