They say the best gift is giving, but for students on a limited budget this is not always an easy task, especially with the pressure of buying friends a good gift they will enjoy.

At CHS, 90 percent of students exchange gifts with friends, according to a survey from Nov. 29 to Dec. 1 of 248 students; 54 percent would spend between $10 and $25, 35 percent from $25 to $50 and 8 percent would exceed $50.

Senior Anna Vernick of Ocean would be perfectly content to receive no gift.

“I would rather just spend the holidays with my friends. That’s really all I could ask for,” Vernick said.

Junior Brandon Kalika of Middletown agreed that the holidays are not about the price tag.

“A good gift is something that comes from the heart,” Kalika said.

Secret Santa gifts are a more manageable form of gift-giving for some CHS students during the holiday season. Each person in a group buys one gift for another in the group anonymously, according to Secretsanta.com. This lessens the amount students need to spend on friend gifts because each person buys one gift instead of a gift for everyone in their friend group.

Kalika is one of the students involved in a Secret Santa. The maximum amount spent Kalika’s Secret Santa gift exchange is usually between $15 and $20.

With options such as Secret Santa, there are many ways to spend less and still have a fun and happy holiday with your friends.