The holidays and New Year’s are, once again just around the corner. While iPhones, GoPros and other tech gadgets will likely be at the top of many gift lists this year, there’s no shortage of amazing and value-conscious old-school ideas for every member of your family and best of all you won’t have to wait till Black Friday or Cyber Monday to get started.
Books: Whether it’s hardcover, paperback or something on a Kindle or iPad, we could all do well to step away from our phones and TV to get lost in romance, sci-fi, history or an inspiring biography. Visit your local bookstore or go online for inspiration. And if you’re not sure what they’ll like, you can’t go wrong with a gift card.
Shows: Is a music star or a Broadway hit coming to town? Or maybe you can broaden their artistic horizons with an evening at the opera, ballet or symphony? There’s no shortage of live events or even a movie you can all share together.
Travel: Getting away can be expensive at holiday time, so consider surprising them and building their anticipation with a long weekend getaway in January or February, when a lot more deals are available and winter is getting a little long in the tooth.
Pampering: A lot of us resist the notion of a massage or spa treatment but there are few things as satisfying and relaxing. Contact a nearby professional massage therapist or spa for multi-session packages your family can enjoy long after the holidays are over.
Charity: If you’re fortunate to have everything you want or need, put your money to good use and consider donating to a worthwhile local, national or global cause. It may be the best gift you can give.
What holiday gifts do you and your family enjoy most? Share your ideas in the Shop Talk Blog community forum!
Did you know: Gift cards are great
Once considered impersonal, today nearly 50% of shoppers find them convenient and gift recipients love the choice it offers. Total spending on plastic and digital gift cards for the holidays was over $30 billion last year, up 83% over the last decade. (Source)
There’s also so many things we can make with our own hands that don’t cost a fortune. For me, baking is the way to go over the holidays. And making it yourself doesn’t always require a lot of skill. It’s also more personal; putting your time and effort into the making is a wonderful way to demonstrate how much you care for someone.
This year I am doing nothing but gift cards. I don’t want to fight all the traffic the crowds anything like that I’ll let them decide what they want to get on their own.
Great ideas for family gifts! Another would be food items, such as Cheryl’s Cookies or Mrs. Prindible’s! Or a huge box of chocolate from your favorite chocolatier! Thanks! 🙂
I love giving gift cards at the holidays because this way people can get the gift they really want so I will be sending out your gift cards this year
“Give the gift of plastic” is the worst recommendation for anything I’ve heard in a long long time. The world does not need more plastic. If you don’t know someone well enough to know what they need, why are you buying something for them anyway? Why not consider donating to a non-profit in someone’s name? Or take them out for a great meal or evening out. Do something that will actually make a difference in someone’s life.
A better idea than merchants gift cards is the festive green certificates issued by the US mint. They never lay in a drawer unused, they are accepted anywhere and the unused change is returned in a uviversally spendable form. Hundreds of thousands of merchant cards are never used, the merchants bank on that free profit. There is no difference between a specific dealer currency and one universally accepted other than the knowledge the recipient will use it. Stop donating money to retailers, take time to buy a gift or give the money.
I love watching kids opening up their gifts with excitement. The smile they have is like nothing else in this world’s. But this year’s is going to be rough on my kids. I will try my best to have the excitement and happiness for them.
Yes, always more traveling and pampering during the holidays.
We need to make this holiday a great success. Stay tuned. .at the studio.
Grace and peace.
Mary
Good ideas
I hate getting gift card’s. Feel it must have been too much trouble to shop for me. Also cards I get are not usualy for place’s I use !
good read, all but the gift cards I feel that those have turned in to away out of stopping and looking. because your really not listening to what the others will be says.
Is very exelente post
Gift cards are a waste .
A gift card benefits the company that it is drawn against far more than the person it is given to.
Many gift cards are not cashed in (recipient gets nothing, Company gets funding amount without having to provide), and frequently those that are used have small balances that don’t get cashed out (thus the company benefits, the recipient doesn’t).
I’ve had people give a gift card at a place I don’t shop, and that would need me to add more funds before I could get anything from the place they picked. What a waste!!
A gift card says you don’t really care but feel obligated , or are too lazy to find something they’d enjoy.
If you want to give the person something and don’t have an idea of the size or some other detail, give them the money (cash or a check) instead.
Gift Cards are a BAD idea!
i always thought homemade items made the best gifts.
Your son who is in the Navy would go crazy for a box of homemade Christmas or box of fudge. Depending upon where your son is stationed, weather appropriate night clothing is usually a hit, too . Above all things considered, snail mail and lots of it. Putting together a small photo album with favorite family photos can also be a big hit. How do I know these things? I am a disabled Desert Shield Desert Storm Veteran who can tell you these things from personal experience. So, warm up the oven and start baking.
I love when I get the gift cards as well and thy are grate for those that you just don’t no what to get for. And with my son being in the u.s Navy I never no what to get for him as well to.
How about the simple but priceless gift of time. Put down the cellphones, ear plugs etc and spend Time with your children, Costs nothing but results will last a lifetime.
Too bad this is the new America, buy, buy, buy, and most of it is junk
Visit your elderly family members. They are so lonely. Take an hour to give them someone to talk to.
I enjoy reading all about your ideas for the holidays coming up . you need more things for Thankgiving it as important holiday also, like the other holidays of the year.
Information very interesting !