If the thought of holiday gift giving stresses you out, fear not. No matter whom you need to please—a family member, friend, significant other, boss, co-worker, neighbor, mail carrier, or the cashier at your favorite grocery store—there’s something for everybody.
Even if you have restrictions like no budget or a special place in your heart for green or charitable gifts, you can stilll be accommodated. Follow our 6-page Holiday Special section for gift ideas and favorite yule-tide memories!
SERVICE NO-CHARGE
Offer a gift certificate for a service: offer to baby-sit for a night so a couple can slip away; give a cooking lesson in a meal you are known for and enjoy the dinner; or offer to take someone to lunch on a particularly rough week.
A PHOTO IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS
Retrieve a photo of the receiver’s family, another of their closest friends, and one of themself, or with their partner, and frame all three in similar or identical frames for a heartfelt gift.
QUOTE ME ON THAT
Purchase a small, decorative vase from a discount or thrift store. Research great quotes on-line and print them on your nicest available paper; cut into fortune cookie-sized strips and curl them with a pencil and place inside the vase, until the vase is about 1/3 full. For larger vases, place rocks at the bottom and pile curled paper quotes above.
START THEIR JOURNAL ENTRIES
Take an unused, blank journal you have at home and, every twenty pages or so, write a favorite memory you had with the gift receiver, something about them that is special, a cherished moment, a funny incident, or an attribute that they’re known for. The receiver can use the rest of the pages to recall new memories and will appreciate the occasional notes left behind by you.
MUSIC TO MY EARS
Burn a few CDs (legally!) with the receiver’s beloved music and offer it as a start to a great music collection. Wrap with a ribbon. Remember, presentation is everything!
AN ALBUM LASTS FOREVER
Purchase an inexpensive photo album and insert favorite photos of their family or friends to give to a lucky receiver.
