One December I spent nine hundred dollars on gifts and could not tell you by February what any of them were. The recipients probably could not either. The whole thing was a blur of Amazon boxes, last-minute panic buys, and credit card dread in January.

Since then, I have cut my holiday gift spending by about half while — and I mean this — getting better reactions from people. Spending more does not equal giving better. Here is the system.

Set a Per-Person Limit Before You Shop

Write down every person you plan to buy for. Next to each name, write a dollar limit. Not a range — a hard number. “Twenty dollars for coworkers, fifty for siblings, whatever feels right for my partner” is a plan. “I will figure it out as I go” is how you spend nine hundred dollars.

I keep this list on my phone. When I am shopping and see a thirty-dollar thing for a coworker whose limit is twenty, I put it back. The limit makes the decision for me.

One Thoughtful Gift Beats Three Generic Ones

A single gift that shows you pay attention — a book on a topic they mentioned once, a tool that solves a specific annoyance they have complained about — lands harder than a pile of scented candles and gift cards. One good thing, not three safe things.

I gave my brother-in-law a specific type of guitar string he mentioned running out of six months earlier. Cost twelve dollars. He talked about it for ten minutes at Christmas dinner because it showed I actually listened.

Consumable Gifts Are Underrated

Homemade cookies, good coffee beans, a nice bottle of olive oil, a bag of fancy pasta with a jar of real Parmesan — consumable gifts cost less, get used, and do not become clutter. Nobody pretends to like a consumable gift. They either use it or they do not, and they almost always do.

I bake four batches of chocolate chip cookies in December — my grandmother’s recipe — and give tins to neighbors, mail carriers, and my kid’s teachers. Total cost: maybe fifteen dollars for ingredients. The mail carrier still mentions them in July.

Skip the Gift Wrap Industrial Complex

Brown kraft paper, twine, and a sprig of rosemary or a cinnamon stick looks better than glossy gift wrap and costs a fraction. A roll of kraft paper is five dollars and lasts for years. Add a handwritten note on a plain index card. The whole presentation looks intentional rather than expensive, which it is.