Thrifty, Thoughtful Gift Idea
Date Posted: October 28th, 2009
My best friend from high school gave me the coolest gift for my birthday this year.
It’s a jar of little origami stars with inspirational quotes on each star. Inexpensive but time consuming to make and it’s a really great way to start my day. It’s like opening a fortune cookie except I get to do it every morning and I don’t have to throw out a cookie. 
If you’ve got plenty of time, but not plenty of cash, or if you want to give more personal gifts this year consider this one.
There’s a few websites with instructions on how to make the stars. Here’s one. Here’s another.
She used a cotton ball holder, but you could use an old jelly or pasta sauce jar. For the paper, my friend used old notebook paper which she hand colored, but you could use fancy scrapbooking paper or whatever kind of paper you like. Etsy has ready-made supplies too.
Finding quotes can be a bit challenging. I suggest picking a theme. For instance, my friend picked “Power to Women” and most of the quotes are (unsurprisingly) from women. People like Gilda Radner, Iris Murdoch, and Sophia Loren.
Other themes you could consider:
- Love
- Inspirational
- Religious
- Philosophical
- Poor Richard’s Almanack
- Bad Puns…
I like this gift because it’s personal and it isn’t all that wasteful. All materials (the paper and the container) can be things you’d otherwise throw-away. Thrifty and thoughtful!
