“The heart of the giver makes the gift dear and precious.” –Martin Luther
During the 1960s, visions of Barbie dolls, baseballs, and Easy-Bake Ovens danced in the heads of kids during the holiday season. Popular gifts for adults included housewares, scarves—most anything out of the SEARS catalogue—and handmade gifts like macramé potholders. With the raging popularity of flatscreen TVs, laptops, and phones that do everything except the dishes, holiday expenditures have come a long way. It’s perhaps no wonder that the American Psychological Society reports financial stress is the top holiday stressor for over 60 percent of Americans.
Here’s the good news. Research shows that giving gifts reinforces our care for others, helps us feel loving and effective and promotes happiness. And our gifts need not burn a hole in our bank accounts. Thoughtful, creative gifts often provide the most emotional fulfillment to the giver and the receiver, while providing a sense of accomplishment—saving money feels good.
Whether you’d prefer a root canal to holiday shopping, or love the shopping but loathe the spending, some simple strategies can help ensure a happy, debt-free holiday season.
Affordable Ways to Show You Care
- Set a price limit for your gift exchange. Knowing you can only spend up to $5, $10 or $25 on each gift inspires creativity. You’ll have to seek out bargain items and sales, create your own or pool your gift money with others to afford a larger gift.
- Pay attention to “the little things.” We love feeling as though someone truly knows us. (One year my mom gave me a collection of miniature, decorative boxes. “I noticed how your eyes lit up when I showed you some of mine,” she said. I didn’t even know I loved decorative boxes…until I opened them.) Has your sister taken up pottery? Buy her pottery accessories or fabulous potter’s book. Does your husband listen to particular radio shows? Make him a CD of podcasts, which are free via iTunes.
- Create personalized gift baskets. Fill a mug with gourmet coffee beans or hot cocoa. Present seeds and other gardening supplies in a ceramic pot for the gardener on your list. For beauty-conscious teens, fill a makeup bag with lip gloss and hair accessories.
- Preserve and celebrate memories. Place special photos in frames. Create personalized calendars, T-shirts, bookmarks, mugs, or mouse pads. Various companies now offer photo restoration—a great idea if you have access to yellowed, faded or damaged family photos. Lacking photos worth commemorating? Plan an outing or event worth photographing.
- Make an affirmation box. Imagine opening a fortune cookie with an adoring message specifically for you. Similar concept here. On high-quality paper, type or write a list of positive statements the recipient will appreciate. Cut the items apart into strips and place them in a container, such as a recipe card box, decorative jar, tin, or sturdy gift box. If you feel particularly creative, decorate the container yourself with paints or a collage.
- Rather than dine at a pricey restaurant, volunteer. A 2010 study by United Health Care and VolunteerMatch showed a strong link between volunteering and boosted physical and emotional health. Invite your friends or family to join you in volunteering at a soup kitchen, Meals on Wheels or a local shelter.
- Play a gift exchange game. Rather than purchase gifts for everyone at your gathering, have each person bring one or several small, wrapped items. Sitting in a circle around the gifts, pass a pair of dice around. Each time a person rolls doubles, they take a gift until they’ve all been taken. For more game ideas, visit Gifypedia.com.
20 Thoughtful Gifts Under $20
- Magazine subscription
- Book (tradition or electronic)
- Candle
- Homemade baked goods
- Gourmet pancake mix and a bottle of pure maple syrup
- Movie night: a DVD, microwave popcorn and candy
- Your favorite recipes, handwritten on decorative cards
- Ingredients to make your favorite recipe
- Craft kits
- Makeup bag filled with travel-size beauty products
- Bottle of sparkling cider
- Deck of cards and a book of card games
- Coupon for dinner at your place
- Picnic bag (Fill a tote bag with a disposable/affordable table cloth, utensils and a thermos.)
- Framed poem or quotation
- iTunes gift card
- Bubble bath and fancy soap
- Stationary and book of stamps
- Ticket to zoo or museum
- Reusable grocery bag and grocery gift card
About the author:
August McLaughlin is an author, health writer and certified nutritionist in Los Angeles. Her feature-length articles on health, fitness, eating disorders and nutrition appear regularly in popular publications, including Healthy Aging Magazine, CITYSMARTMagazine, IAmThatGirl, EHow Food and LIVESTRONG.com. She was named “top nutrition writer” of 2010 by LIVESTRONG.com and Demand Media Studios and her article, “Daily Dose,” which investigated the risks, benefits and myths regarding vitamin supplements, was named “Editor’s Pick” of 2010. Considering her longstanding passion for mysteries, thrillers and suspense, she wasn’t surprised when her attempt at a memoir turned quickly into a suspense novel (IN HER SHADOW). She is represented by John Rudolph of Dystel & Goderich Literary Management. www.augustmclaughlin.com
Facebook
Twitter
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Great post! I remember just LIVING for the day when the Sears Christmas catalog would show up so I could flip to the back and go through the toy section. Play Doh and latch hook kits – those were the days.
You are so right about the stakes (and price) of gifts going way up. When 9 year-olds are asking for i-Pods and DSMs, it can feel overwhelming. This year, I made both of my kids a photo album on Shutterfly with photos from our summer trip to Italy. The albums feature pictures with them in them from their favorite memories. I’m thinking in the long run, that will be a gift that they appreciate more with time.
Thanks, Julie! Yes, who can forget that gigantic book of goodies arriving on our doorsteps? My wish list was a toy collage, all cut-and-paste.
Your photo albums sound priceless! No doubt they will appreciate with time—both in your eyes and your kidlets.’
{ 1 trackback }