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Recent articles by Jennifer Mulrean: • 10 gifts for people who hate stuff, 11/20/2003 • Bundle your telecom to save a bundle?, 10/28/2003 • Get an online divorce, 7/22/2003 More... |
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Related Articles Turn your memories into precious gifts How to tell a good charity from a bad one Related Resources Use our savings calculator See if you're a smart spender |
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| 10 low-cost gifts from the heart | |||||||||||||||
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You won't see all these at the mall. But no one ever said presents that are thoughtful, thrifty and full of personality would be easy. By Jennifer Mulrean The holidays are supposed to be about visiting with loved ones -- laughing around the fire, chatting up Grandma, hosting people in your home. So stop the holiday madness. Stop schlepping all over town. Stop waiting in lines. Stop running after your own sense of Christmas past. It's time to focus on giving gifts that really mean something. To help, we hunted the Net for the best suggestions on how to spend less money and put more of your self into creative gift-giving. Some of the best ideas still required a fair amount of time, but compiling a family cookbook (No. 1, below) can be far more rewarding than creating an attack plan for the mall. Not everything on the list is charmingly homemade, but everything is a step above the generic gift certificate.
Gifts with heart Family cookbook: Do you miss Grandmas shepherds pie or Aunt Aggies famous French toast? You can bet your siblings do, too. Try compiling all the favorite family recipes into a cookbook. Use your design skills to create an attractive cover and add photos or stories to create a wonderful record of family history that extends beyond the kitchen table. There are even books that tell you how to do it, such as "Scrapbooking with Recipes" by Better Homes and Gardens. Video tribute: Who doesnt want to be a star, especially when the rewards are as sweet as a personal video tribute from loved ones? Ask family and friends for funny stories and favorite memories of the honoree. Too often we share these stories only on special occasions, such as weddings, or after the people are gone. This is a great idea for parents and grandparents. Just have the tissues handy. This ones sure to be a tear-jerker. Personalized/homemade gifts: Anything homemade -- soaps, stationery, jams -- all offer something stores cannot: your love and effort in all its imperfect glory. The best ideas take advantage of family history or photos, something fellow MSN Money columnist Liz Pulliam Weston wrote about in "Turn your memories into precious gifts." At 101, my great-grandmother especially enjoys puzzles made from family photos. You can embellish your gifts with magazines or newspapers that were published on auspicious dates in your familys history -- a wedding or a birthday, perhaps. (You can search for Time magazine covers here or for Life magazines and newspapers at here.) Also, check your local phone book for one of the you-paint ceramics stores that are popping up all over. Children (and adults) can add charm and personal messages to gifts like mugs and picture frames for grandparents. The hostess with the mostest: Anyone whos put on a family reunion knows the level of detail and schedule juggling can be mind boggling. By taking on the planning, youre freeing up everyone else to relax and look forward to the event. It doesnt have to be a holiday get-together and doesnt have to be overly ambitious. Even a simple picnic at a park can be tons of fun, especially when youve done all the planning for everyone. Cover the family beat: It can be difficult to keep up with the comings and goings of your immediate family, let alone extended family across the globe. Don your reporters cap and create a newsletter that includes the extended familys news. This keeps everyone up to speed on what others are up to, even when phone calls and personal letters are scant. And the publishing schedule is entirely up to you, whether its annual, monthly or quarterly. Check the library or online stores for books on how to create great family newsletters. ("Creating Family Newsletters" by Elaine Floyd is just one example.) Homemade gifts by the month: Youve probably seen the commercial gift-of-the-month clubs that offer flowers, fruits and vegetables, wines, even cigars by the month. By drawing on your own talents, you can create a personal monthly gift service at a fraction of the dollar cost. Maybe its freshly baked bread, homemade candles, flowers or vegetables from your garden that you bestow on lucky friends or family each month -- even a poem or car washing. Be careful, though. It can be a big time commitment. You might want to ratchet it down to quarterly gifts or consider doing something that you can make ahead, such as jams or homemade soaps. The worst thing you can do with this kind of gift? Not deliver on your promises. Prepaid calling cards: For college kids or elderly relatives living on fixed incomes, prepaid calling cards mean they wont have to forgo a comforting call home because money is tight. (And for parents of overseas-bound college kids, they also can offer invaluable peace of mind.) This isnt a hard-to-find item. Try local grocery and drugstores, or find them online here and here. Chip in on a group outing: This works well when you can get everyone to agree to forgo the gifts and instead put the money toward a group outing. It can be a nice dinner at a fancy restaurant, a day sledding or a whole weekend away in a rented cabin. Not only does it reduce the focus on material goods, but you also will have time to enjoy each others company. Spread the joy: In the its better to give than to receive camp, consider sponsoring a needy child or giving to a charity in someone elses name. Have your kids pick one of their toys to donate to charity, or make a family event out of preparing a holiday meal for a local family in need. (See "How to tell a good charity from a bad one" for information on how to pick worthy causes or visit ePhilanthropyFoundation.org.) Your time: Ah, the most valuable gift of all. This can take any form you want, but formalizing your offer makes it worthy of being put under the tree. Consider monthly babysitting or dog-care coupons or help someone do a difficult all-day project, such as getting garden beds ready for spring planting or building shelves for a hobby room. Lend your expertise to things your loved ones especially need help with, whether its an all-day class on how to use their computer or how to cook some of the family recipes youve compiled for them. | |||||||||||||||
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