Do you feel obligated to give a gift but fear your gift might not meet your hosts' expectations because you are working on a limited budget? If your answer is yes to this question, then you are viewing the right page. The following article will teach you how to graciously mask your awkward feeling of obligation by personalizing gifts. Check out the list of fun ways to fulfill your baby-gift-giving obligation without drilling a hole in your pocket and without causing you some embarrassment over the cheapness of your gift.

1. If both parents are old friends of yours, ransack your room and look for old photographs of them. Scribble a personal note at the back of each photo and have the photo laminated. Punch a hole and add a ribbon. Voila! You now have an instant and personalized bookmark that you can insert in the pages of a baby book for the couple or a storybook for the baby.

2. Head to your favorite stationery shop and hoard any educational items on sale. The day might be your lucky day if you can find coloring books, crayons, flash cards and letters of the alphabet sold at bargain prices. Next, head to a crafting shop and get yourself some ribbon, beads and glue. Decorate a shoebox with gift wrapping paper, and store the educational items there. On the box cover, glue the beads, forming the baby's name, and tie a ribbon to close the box.

3. Design a stationery set for the baby using your favorite software and let your personal printer take care of the rest. Pour your creative juices, and experiment using different designs and layouts. You may want to use the photo of the baby as a watermark, or you may simply want to stick to solid colors and add the baby's name or initials. Make use of any old specialty papers stocked in your home office. You can even print matching envelopes if you want to.

4. Allow a blank CD to come to your rescue. Store timeless nursery rhymes and children's songs. If you have no knack for music, put your visual art knowledge to the test. Come up with a presentation or some slide show templates that your doting parent-friends can use later for the baby. Add a personal touch by designing the album cover, or if you want to take a break from designing, use an amusing photograph of the baby as the CD cover.

5. If too many chinaware are causing the clutter in your kitchen, do away with them without having to break any of those precious plates and mugs. Hand-paint them with the baby's name or initials. Set the plate on an individual plate stand (if you have any spare ones). You can also use a porcelain piggy bank as an alternative to chinaware.

Gift giving need not be expensive and rote. Work on what you have and have fun transforming those that are ordinary to the extraordinary.