As the final shopping days turn into the final shopping hours, some people will be ready, presents wrapped and under the tree, while others, myself included, will still be scrambling, trying to pick-up those last few gifts.
I don’t know about you, but for me Christmas shopping can be tough sometimes. I like to give gifts that I really think the receiver will like or appreciate, but sometimes I get a block. I get stuck. I run out of ideas. So what if you’re stuck? What if you have no idea what to give someone? Give them your gifts!
No, I don’t mean re-gifting, that’s just dangerous. Give the gift of yourself. I don’t know about you, but I think some of the gadgets today are pretty awesome, but next week or next month they will be outdated and something better will along and it pains me to spend money, sometimes a lot of money, on gadgets that will have lost their value the day they are opened. (Sorry, not trying to be a Scrooge, just being honest!).
So I offer you a different idea. We’ve all seen MasterCard’s “Priceless” commercials and granted, with the right credit you really could buy gifts that could give you priceless experiences, but most of us don’t have the cash or the credit to do that. However, all of us still have the ability to give the truly priceless gifts. In other words, give the gifts you were given at birth.
Are you following me? Maybe you don’t know what your gifts are. Maybe you have talents but you don’t know how to convert them to a gift. Here are a few ideas:
Let’s say you’re artistic, you draw, paint, sketch, but you don’t have enough time to do a painting for everyone you know. You don’t have to. Just do one, then scan it and have copies made into cards, calendars, prints or even prints on canvas. You could sign, date and number each one, just as the professionals do. The same goes for photography. If you have a lot of pictures to share you could make cards, calendars or even a coffee table book, make multiple copies (including one for yourself).
Not artistic? Maybe you’re athletic. Say you’re good at golf and you have a friend who would love to learn how to play, give them the gift of lessons from you! You’ll not only be giving them a gift of learning your sport, but you’re giving the gift of your time. And we all know that time spent together is truly priceless.
Are you handy and know people who aren’t? You could give them your time and help them with a project they’ve been wanting to get done but they either don’t know how, don’t have the money to pay someone to do it or don’t have the time to do it themselves. Or maybe you do a project together, set-up a regular time to work on the project, like once a week, once a month, etc. Again, your gift shared and time spent together is an invaluable gift.
Love animals? Offer pet-sitting services. Love children? Give free baby-sitting coupons. Play an instrument? Teach someone else how to play or record yourself playing so they can listen whenever they want to. Have a beautiful voice? Sing, record it and share it! Are you an amazing cook? Make a cookbook with your favorite recipes or teach someone how to cook or offer to “cater” dinner for them where you are the caterer or “cater” a dinner party, or set-up monthly dinners with friends. Do you have a knack for decorating? Help a friend decorate their house or prepare it for a move. Are you a snappy dresser? Be a “personal shopper” for your family and friends. Are you ultra-organized? Help a less-than-organized friend get organized.
Got it? Do you know what your gifts are? What are they? Get creative and give them! After all, what good are they if we keep them bottled up?
Kate
Walnuts n Pears 