Can you believe it? The holidays are almost here! Today, I thought I’d touch on some gift ideas that might be just right for anyone still lingering on your list who’s difficult to shop for.
1. The gift of your time
For: Your parents, a friend, anyone who needs a skill you have
Idea: Got a friend who just can’t seem to get motivated to finally paint their living room? Or how about that single mom who’s in need of some time out? Create your own gift certificate for a service they can use.
2. Homemade baked goods
For: Your children’s teachers, a special neighbor, friends at work
Idea: Bake several different varieties of cookies, get your kids to help decorate and wrap them, tuck in a holiday greeting and, voila!, you’ve got a winner every time!
3. The gift of charity
For: Anyone with a heart for a certain cause
Idea: The possibilities are endless! Plant a tree, donate to a church, or send a gift in their name that helps to end poverty.
4. Event or concert tickets
For: Sports fans, music lovers, theater-goers
Idea: Giving the gift of an event is easy, and many venues now feature greener, LEED-certified facilities. Hint: Before purchasing tickets, make sure your recipient will be available at the scheduled event time.
5. Eco-friendly getaways
For: The entire family, your parents or in-laws, or just you and someone special
Idea: To keep costs down, look for a fun excursion close by (within a day’s drive). Or you may opt to go full steam ahead and plan an educational vacation to an exotic locale. Either way, you’ll find plenty of options to choose from online.
The best idea may be to ask yourself “What is meaningful to that person?” This will help spark some ideas that will mean more than just another mug for Dad’s coffee cup collection. And if you still need a bit more inspiration, consider these tips from my post last year, Eco Friendly Gift Giving.
Do you have more eco-friendly gift ideas for someone who is hard to shop for? We’d love to hear from you! Just leave a suggestion in the comment section below.
Resources:
Regiftable.com: Regifting
Sustainable Baby Steps: Eco-Friendly Gift Ideas
Clean Organized Family Home: Eco-Friendly Gifts
Travel Channel: Eco-Friendly Luxury Resorts
Green Pearls: Sustainable Green Projects – Ideas
Green Blog: 2014 Eco-Friendly Gift Giving
Winter Coat Drive
Recently the Norwex Movement Marketing team collected coats, hats sweaters and other warm clothing for a local clothes closet. It felt good knowing our gift would help others. Pictured left to right are Melba Dobbins and Lola Mulari, from Northgate United Methodist Church; Linda Lanier, Brian Dill and Teresa Kulupka, from Norwex, and Al Skuza from Northgate.
I just saw a video where the principles first had children write letters to Santa. The children wasted no time writing that they wanted toys, books, flying unicorns, etc. Then they were asked to write what they wanted from mom and dad for Christmas. The children had to think hard and they wrote down things like, spend more time with me, eat more meals together, do things together, play games with me, etc. Then the children were asked if they could only pick the gift from one letter or the other, which gift would they choose. They chose the letter they wrote to mom and dad. It shows that children don’t want stuff as much as they want family. It’s very important to give of yourself and not just throw money at those you love.
Thanks for sharing this! It’s a nice reminder that in this consumer world that the children still value time with family. An important message to remember in this busy world.
These are great ideas! Love them!
Great ideas!
Love these ideas! I plan to use them!!!!
I bought our family basketball tickets to see the UK Wildcats play. Best Christmas present ever….so far! I told them we need to cut back on gifts (things) and do more activities or go places as “gifts” this year. 🙂
Hey, good job on the coat drive, what a worthy cause!