Gifts Under $50 From Houston's Best-Kept Shopping Secrets

This segment aired on Channel 11 News At 5 on KHOU on Dec 4, 5 and 6, 2008. A link to watch is at the bottom of this post.

Looking for special gifts without a big price-tag? Here are three of my favorite secret sources for unique gifts on a budget.

Spec's Liquor Warehouse, 2410 Smith, Houston, 713-526-8787 www.spcsonline.com

Spec's is known for specialty liquors, wines and foods, but they also have unique gifts starting at $3. Glassware, bar baubles, cookies, cheeses, caviar, cigars...the list goes on and on. You can even select a bunch of goodies and they'll put them all in a gift basket.

If you're shopping for liquor, look for gift sets. Gift sets sell for the same price as the liquor in the set, plus you get some cool accessories like glassware, flasks, and shakers. Spec's has a huge selection of gift sets for almost every liquor. In the segment, we showed Mount Gay Rum paired with a mojito muddler & muddling glass ($15) and Jack Daniels with a logo flask ($32).

Spec's humidor is filled with cigars. In the segment we showed a box of 8 assorted Cubanos for $25 ... and even comes gift-wrapped. There's also a selection of cool lighters, cigar cutters, and humidors to make a gift for any budget.

The specialty food area holds caviars, teas, cookies, cheeses, candies, and sauces from around the world. American sturgeon caviar is about $35 an ounce...add belinis and creme fraiche for a real treat, all for less than $50. Something as simple and deliscious as Swiss and German jams can be a wonderful gift. In the segment we showed peach and appricot jam for $3 - $6. Don't worry, the recipient of these gifts won't know how much you spent because these foods aren't available in local grocery stores.

JS Collections, 9700 Harwin Street (inside the Central Mart) #156. Houston, TX 77036, ( 713) 244-0397

If you've never been to Harwin Street, this is a great place to start. The store is organized, well lit, and the staff is friendly and helpful. It's everything you love about retail shopping with a wholesale price. You'll find necklaces for days, earrings, embellished reading glasses, purse hooks, jeweled ID holders, enamel & crystal frames, and evening bags. Most items are priced between $4 - $20.

Palmer Packaging, 1613 Richmond AveHouston, TX 77006(713) 524-5413 www.palmerpkg.com

Palmer packaging is one of Houston's best-kept secrets. The shop is overflowing with tissue, ribbon, gift boxes in every size and shape, organza drawstring bags, shoppng bags, shred, and more. Great wrapping is the secret to making an inexpensive item look special. Go for luxiourous ribbons and wrapping that adds volume to the item.

Turn a tin of tea into a beautiful hostess gift with some printed cellophane and pretty ribbon. A $6 decorative wine stopper looks like a $20 gift when presented in a gift box overflowing in crinkled shred and a big organza bow. Peach jam for $3 looks like a European treasure nestled in shred inside a big pretty box.

In the segment, we spent $2-$3 in packaging for each gift. In some cases, we even we spent more in packaging than we did on the actual present. This might seem silly, but when we added the cost of gift and packaging, the end result looked like much more.

What's Sarah Wearing?
Grifflen purple cotton ruffle top (Em & Lee http://www.emandlee.com/), Isabel denim flat-front trousers (http://www.dillards.com/), teal glass drop earrings (JS Collections, 9700 Herwin St. suite 156), teal plastic bangle (http://www.charmingcharlie.com/), Vaneli leopard print pony sling-back shoes (http://www.dillards.com/).

Here's the link to the segment
http://www.khou.com/video/index.html?nvid=310505&shu=1
Thanks so much for watching!