Spending and Saving

Unemployment-Friendly Gifts: Your Favorite Kid

Just because you’ve been laid off doesn’t mean you feel good laying off on giving. We’ve come up with a list of thoughtful, unique and inexpensive holiday gifts for every friend and family member.

Your Favorite Kid: Balloon Power Boat

If you love fun design, you’ll love Kid O, an e-commerce site that carries high-design toys. (There’s also a brick and mortar outpost in New York City’s West Village neighborhood.) While we’d love to get our six-year-old cousin the Bertoia child-sized diamond chair, it’s not within our budget this year–or any year, for that matter. However, Kid O offers plenty of cool-looking gifts that kids will actually like, and parents will appreciate. This balloon power boat, for example, can be toyed with in the bathtub, kiddie pool or the neighborhood pond. Air in the balloon pushes the boat along. (Best for a child who is 4-6 years old.)

EDITOR’S NOTE:  Etsy is another great source of inexpensive kid gifts. Thanks for our sharp-eyed friends at Daily Worth, my nephew will be getting some fun race car crayons. (Just $5!)

More Unemployment-Friendly Gifts:

For Mom

For Dad

For Grandparents

For Your Host or Hostess

Your Best Girl Friend

Tomorrow: The Toughest Gift of All in 15 Minutes

Lauren Sherman is a Brooklyn, N.Y.-based journalist. She’s been covering the fashion, retail and luxury industries since 2004. She founded The Fashion Beat in Oct. 2009 after working for four years at Forbes.

Tags: gifts, holidays, new frugal, shopping