With the gift-giving season now in full swing, many are trying to come up with creative gift ideas for females friends, significant others and family members.

Extraordinary gifts can require extensive thought. However, it is easy to find the perfect present for a woman who you know well.

Receiving gifts that recollect private jokes and shared experiences are often preferred over expensive things like iPods and perfume.The most cherished gifts are from the heart and there is no need to break the bank.

“My boyfriend did not want to know what I wanted for Hanukah because he wanted to figure it out himself, but that shows that he cares and knows me as a person. I know it will be something personal and from the heart,” journalism graduate student Jessica Katz said.

Katz won’t mind if she doesn’t get that new handbag she has been eyeing. She knows the true value of a gift has nothing to do with price.

“It’s not about the cost of the gift. It’s about the laughs you get when you give them,” Junior public relations major Delia Helie said. “Last year a group of us planned to spend only $10 on each person and we could only buy things in the dollar store.”

Handmade gifts can be just as nice as purchased ones.

“I’d rather a gift that I like that is inexpensive than a gift that costs a lot but isn’t personal at all,” Helie said.

An inexpensive but thoughtful handmade gift is a “Friendship Survival Kit.”

The kit includes items like a cotton ball, toothpick and lifesaver candies. A poem will make it more personal as well as explain what each item signifies. For example, “Life Saver: A reminder of the times we need each other’s help.”

More information for this gift and other “survival kits” can be found at www.PixieDustGifts.com.

Other cute and inexpensive gifts include decorating a picture frame and inserting a meaningful picture. Or think outside the box and create the frame as a scrapbook page with ticket stubs, pictures and quotes.

“I’m getting my best friend a picture and small gifts that will be useful overseas,” Helie said. “Also funny gifts to keep her from getting homesick because we are both going abroad this spring.”

Buying gifts for women that you aren’t close with can be difficult. Consider her interests or talk to close friends or family to get ideas.

More gift giving ideas can be found at www.gifts.com, www.redenvelope.com and www.personalcreations.com.