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More Gift Ideas
Face it. If you have a pulse and the ability to sign your name, you don’t really have to think much about Christmas gift-giving. Or even read all of these brilliant chapters I’ve put together for you.
You are free to jump in the car and drive to one of the thousands of mega malls in America where you can swipe the plastic and shop your brains out, buying elaborate gifts for each and every person on your Christmas list. And while you’re at it, you might as well have a professional do all your gift wrapping while you put your feet up and sip a lovely coffee drink.
There. Shopping done.
So what’s the big deal anyway? And why have I gone to all the effort of suggesting ways you can avoid that kind of Christmas shopping?
May I remind you of a date on the calendar known as January 15? That is about the time when the reality of Christmas sets in as you receive the bills.
If you can barely keep up with your payments now, what makes you think it’s going to be any easier to make bigger payments next January? And trust me when I say you are not likely to even remember all the stuff you bought come January 15. And all that expensive wrap? Flapping about in some landfill somewhere.
It’s never too late. You still have an option, and that is to get creative. You do not have to spend a lot of money to have the merriest Christmas ever! And you know who’s going to be happiest on January 15? You and everyone for whom you spent a little time and created a gift that was unique, useful, and also memorable.
I cannot promise that any of the ideas that follow will hit the bull’s-eye for you, but they may stimulate your imagination and help you come up with great ideas of your own.
“Let me guess . . . you just got the July issue of Debt-Proof Living!”
Gift Ideas for Kids
It’s challenging to come up with an original gift for a child that will last longer than the Christmas morning madness.
This year you just might find the solution in a child’s custom play kit, a unique assemblage of all the props and accessories necessary for hours of creative and imaginative play. Play kits don’t lose their entertainment value, because, unlike some other gifts, they are powered by imagination, not batteries. They spark interest in a child without setting fire to your wallet.
One Debt-Proof Living contributor, Kelly M., wrote how she made a dress-up play kit for her daughter after seeing a really poor quality set for $29.99. That became the first in a series of successful play kits for children. She graciously submitted the following directions and inspiration for ways to make all kinds of play kits.
Play Kits
It takes time and thought to put together a terrific play kit. This is a gift that requires more time than money, so it’s never too soon to get started.
First, design the kit on paper by making a list of the contents of your ideal play kit. Go “shopping” in your home, garage, or attic. Let friends, family, and neighbors know what you’re looking for too. Ten or twenty dollars will go a long way at your best suppliers: thrift stores, garage sales, consignment stores, and rummage sales.
A note of caution: You cannot be too safe when making play kits for children, especially if you are looking to used goods to make up the kit. If items cannot be sanitized in the laundry, make sure you can have them dry-cleaned or hand washed. Jewelry, accessories, shoes, and so forth should be disinfected using your preferred method of choice. Always err on the side of caution.
Dress-up play kit. You want evening gowns? Women’s slips are perfect. Look for fancy lace and lots of color. Short dresses are long gowns on your little one. When it comes to dress-up games, gaudy is better. Sequins, bows, and polka dots are the order of the day. Think bad bridesmaid dresses and New Year’s Eve sparkle. Complete the wardrobe with gloves and a hat or two. Maybe even a feather boa or faux fur coat, if you can get one at a good price. Complete the set with cheap costume jewelry and get ready for the fashion shows.
For the little man in your life, start with a man’s jacket and a briefcase. Don’t forget a few clip-on ties. A pair of overalls and a painter’s cap or gardening tools become a handyman’s outfit. A fedora and trench coat turns junior into a private detective. Check with your local police department for plastic badges and the airport for flight wings. Add a blue shirt to the badge or wings and you have a pilot or a police officer uniform. Include wallets, watches, a fireman’s hat, camouflage pants, and a soldier’s cap. Anything that immediately makes you think of a real job is a candidate for the play kit.
Kitchen play kit. Plastic containers are a must. Start with those little pieces that came with your set—you know, the ones you have no earthly use for but can’t bear to throw away. This is also a good time to weed out the cups you no longer use and those plastic parfait cups you bought at your neighbor’s Tupperware party.
Add gadgets you don’t use. You may not need a strawberry huller or a melon baller, but your child will love it. Add wooden spoons, spatulas, and other utensils such as an eggbeater or a cookie press. Most of these items can be found at a thrift store if your kitchen doesn’t yield enough goodies. Look for some small pots and skillets. Or choose microwave-safe containers of good, solid plastic that will hold up to rough kitchen play.
Restaurant play kit. Your budding chef may prefer a restaurant to a simple kitchen. Add some dishes, tablecloths, and candleholders to the mix. Keep an eye out for a waitress uniform or a white jacket for the chef. Use your computer to make menus for Cafe Cathy or Johnny’s Down Home Diner. Mount them on cardboard and cover them with contact paper so they’ll last. You may even want a small blackboard for writing the special of the day.
Don’t forget a pad for writing down orders. Actual order pads are inexpensive and available at your local office supply store if you’d like to inject a little more realism into the game. You could even include a bell for “order up” authenticity.
Family play kit. Have a mommy or daddy in training on your hands? You’ll need a doll large enough to wear real clothes. You can find baby clothes for as little as a quarter at yard sales, so stock up. Look for sleepers, booties, frilly dresses, and hats. An umbrella-style stroller for $2.95 is superior to a new toy version for $9.99. Add baby bottles, cloth diapers, and a pacifier.
Grocery store play kit. Create a grocery store for running those imaginary errands with baby. This is an easy one since most of the “food” can come straight from your own kitchen.
Start collecting reusable plastic containers such as yogurt cups, butter tubs, and ketchup bottles. Seal the lids with glue. Collect egg cartons, coffee cans, milk jugs, peanut butter jars, and boxes from cereal, pasta, gelatin, pudding, crackers, and other staple items—anything that can be washed and sealed will work great. Firm up cardboard containers by filling them with Styrofoam or rags. Seal them with clear packing tape or contact paper so they’ll hold up to frequent use. Rescue and clean plastic fruit for the produce department. Foam rubber is a wonderful material for making slices of bread, vegetables, and other loose foods. Imagination and a few magic markers will fill the store shelves in no time.
Look for inexpensive baskets to combine convenient shopping with storage when the set is not in use. Add a large calculator and play money. Your junior entrepreneur is in business!
Doctor or nurse play kit. Is there a budding doctor or nurse in the house? Create a medical kit. Next time you visit the doctor’s office, mention your quest and ask for a donation—a couple of tongue depressors, some gauze, or anything to give your set a bit of reality. A white jacket and surgical scrubs can be found in a used uniform store if your thrift shop doesn’t have them. Find a clipboard and file folders to make medical charts.
A sphygmomanometer, otherwise known as a blood pressure cuff, can be made with a piece of black felt, Velcro, and plastic tubing. The bulb end can be made from the end of a turkey baster or the bulb from a bike horn.
Handyman play kit. Fill a tool chest with screwdrivers, a hammer, and a socket set (who cares if it’s missing a piece or two?). Throw in a broken clock to take apart and put back together. Pieces of wood, screws, nuts, and bolts will spark an older child’s curiosity and creativity. Think child safety before including small items or things with cords or of an electrical nature. Use a cooler or suitcase as the tool chest to keep prices down and pieces together. And if you’re worried about too many little pieces, it’s no worse than stepping on a Lego block.
Homekeeping play kit. Keeping house is a chore to adults but looks like fun to most kids. Develop their interest early by giving them their own cleaning tools. Look for a carpet sweeper or handheld vacuum. A travel iron (remove the cord) and tabletop ironing board are child-sized versions of the real thing. Add a bucket and sponges, a few rags, and a feather duster. How about a child-sized rake, garden tools, and play lawn mower to add to the fun? Label empty plastic spray bottles with “window cleaner” and “furniture polish.” Remember to seal the bottles if you want them to stay empty.
Entertainment play kit. Hollywood awaits your budding filmmaker. All you need is a nonworking (or working if you can get a deal) video camera and some crazy props. A girl dressed in evening clothes would love to be the star of the latest production.
Make a clapboard of cardboard or foam board. Raid Halloween costumes to create the wardrobe department. A microphone can be used for live news reports one day and sold-out concerts the next. The camera goes on location for a wild (stuffed) animal safari today and shoots music videos tomorrow.
Unleash your imagination. If you can imagine it, so can your child. Cowboys, construction workers, and auto mechanics can fill out costume sets. A stuffed animal collection surely needs a zookeeper or veterinarian. A chalkboard and some textbooks mean school is in session any time. A set can be as large or small as space and materials will allow.
If you believe storage will be a problem with some of these play kits, make sure storage is a part of the gift itself. A suitcase or old trunk is the perfect accompaniment to any dress-up kit. Housekeeping tools can be packed into a laundry basket. Use a large plastic container for the store or kitchen sets. Store baby’s supplies in a large diaper bag. A fishing tackle box makes a great toolbox. You get the idea.
More Gifts for Kids
Books as well as books on CD are always welcome gifts for kids of all ages. Ask your librarian or an elementary school teacher for recommendations.
Personalize a book-of-the-month gift by either writing and designing the book yourself or buying an inexpensive one that reflects the appropriate holiday or season.
For a young girl who loves to play dress-up, cover a shoe box with pretty wrapping paper inside and out. Fill it with inexpensive makeup and costume jewelry. Hint: All of the makeup at EyesLipsFace.com costs a dollar per item and comes packaged in smaller containers—perfect for the younger set.
A homemade balance beam with proper supports is perfect for an aspiring gymnast. Make sure you start with sturdy material, then sand and finish the surfaces.
An appliance box, with doors and windows cut out and decorated to look like a house, castle, office, or school, is always a big hit. This idea is in accordance with the rule that says the bigger and more expensive the toy, the more likely the child will want to play with the box it came in.
Fill a piggy bank with starter money.
Make your own play dough. Combine in a saucepan 1 cup flour, ½ cup salt, 1 cup water, 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, 2 teaspoons cream of tartar, and food coloring. Mix and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until a ball is formed. Pour onto a floured board or wax paper and knead until smooth. Tightly covered, it will keep for several weeks.
Create a simplified map of the town in which the child lives. Highlight the location of significant landmarks: the child’s school, church, Daddy’s and Mommy’s offices, the zoo, and the library.
Kids love to create little books with coupons in them, good for things such as one night’s dishwashing or a kiss and a hug. Parents can give reverse coupons to their kids—good for exemptions from making their beds, setting the table, and so on.
Give tickets to a favorite sporting event or for a ride on a real train (accompanied by an adult, of course).
Yarn, needles, a beginner’s book, and a certificate for knitting lessons from the giver are very popular these days.
A simple camera, a photo album, and lessons on how to download pictures to the family’s computer printer will spark creativity.
Make a one-of-a-kind puzzle. Mount an enlarged photo of yourself or some family occasion onto a piece of foam board (available at stationery or art supply stores). Cover the photo with a piece of tracing paper and lightly draw a jigsaw pattern, making as many or as few pieces as would be appropriate for the age of the recipient. Using a sharp knife (such as an X-ACTO), carefully cut through the tissue paper, photo, and board along the puzzle lines. Separate the pieces and place in a gift box.
Preschoolers love puzzles. Lay a strip of masking tape on a table, sticky side up. Press about ten popsicle sticks (or wooden tongue depressors) side by side evenly across the tape. Draw a picture and write the child’s name on the sticks. Then remove the tape and shuffle the sticks to make a great puzzle.
For an artist’s box, start with a clear storage box (a twelve-quart box is a good size). Write the child’s name on it and fill it with plain white paper, construction paper, crayons, colored pencils, glue, tape, a ruler, plastic stencils, and a pencil sharpener.
Start a collection of Christmas tree ornaments for a child, to be added to each year.
A beginner stamp-collector kit from the US Postal Service is great for children. These kits are quite inexpensive, impressive, and are geared toward the young philatelist.
Gift Ideas for Teenagers
Give a night on the town with an envelope of cash labeled for fast food, a movie, and the ice-cream shop—or Starbucks. Or get gift cards for each (following the cautions provided in chapter 8). This is a gift a teen will love.
Make an appointment for a beauty makeover at a local school of cosmetology. Prices are typically very inexpensive, and all the work done by students is closely supervised. Stick with temporary work such as hairstyling, manicures, pedicures, and facials and stay away from haircuts and color.
Here’s a list of other ideas for teens:
Calligraphy pen and instruction book.
Knitting supplies, pattern, and instructional DVD.
With parental permission, a makeup case for the soon-to-be teen filled with lip gloss, nail polish, bubble bath, dusting powder, and a light scent.
Self-help and inspirational books.
Devotionals.
Calendar.
Picture frame or empty photo album.
Body pillow or decorative pillows for the bed.
Desk accessories.
Hobby equipment.
Framed print or poster for a teen’s bedroom wall.
Cell phone case.
Movie tickets.
An additional piece of whatever the teen collects.
Currency taped in a pleasing arrangement and then slipped into a picture frame that has glass on which you have written “just in case of emergency.”
Journal or diary.
Money.
Board game.
3-D puzzles.
Gift Ideas for College Students
Send a Christmas basket to a college student on the first of December. Include a holiday CD and decorations for the dorm room. Christmas cards, stamps, and red and green pens are just a few more ideas.
Food. Anything that can be kept in a dorm, sorority, or frat room.
A small appliance that is not restricted in a group living situation.
Make or purchase an oversized laundry bag with the recipient’s name on the front. Fill with detergent, fabric softener, bleach, and a roll of quarters. Add a couple of magazines for the laundromat wait.
Gift Ideas for Adults
Foolproof recipes are always welcome gifts. Copy twenty of your favorite recipes into a notebook. Add a personal note as appropriate.
Set aside two hours a week to serve as chauffeur, escort, or errand runner for a special person who doesn’t drive or doesn’t have time to get to the library, grocery store, pharmacy, dry cleaner, post office, etc.
Offer to keep children of young parents overnight once a month or once a quarter. Arrange to pick them up in the mid-afternoon so the parents can enjoy the evening together.
Offer to care for a pet during a vacation.
Give a dinner a month to an overworked mom. Offer a piping-hot and ready-to-eat casserole once a month. She can specify her busiest evening.
Make a beautiful watering can for a plant or garden lover on your gift list. Either buy a new watering can or give an old one a face-lift. You’ll need some self-adhesive shelf liner or covering and a pair of scissors. Cut the covering into a strip to wrap around the handle, another for the water spout, then larger pieces for the can itself. Peel away the backing and carefully wrap the entire can. The end result: a functional watering can that’s pretty enough to be used as a vase.
Make a collage or memory box for a person who made a special trip with you. Arrange postcards, ticket stubs, foreign currency, luggage tags, airline boarding passes, and street maps and combine with photos of the trip.
Fill a blue basket with a variety of blueberry products such as jam, muffin and pancake mix, and syrup; blueberry-scented candles, bath salts, and room freshener; and blue notepaper. The same idea can be used for strawberry, lavender, peppermint, or other flavors.
To turn a plain cookie sheet into a fancy bistro tray, glue on canceled foreign stamps and/or domestic commemorative stamps. Cover the entire tray, then apply several coats of polyurethane varnish.
Everyone has a box or two of old family photographs. For a special vintage touch, choose a black-and-white photo that has special meaning for the recipient. You can frame it in its original form or have a photocopy enlargement made at a copy store. An inexpensive black or silver frame will turn this treasure into an heirloom.
Make a working woman’s emergency kit: a small Swiss Army knife; a good lint roller (a pet-hair remover from a pet store is the best bargain); an assortment of safety pins, needles, and thread; Kiwi’s Shine Wipes (instant shoeshines); double-stick tape to fix hems in a hurry; small scissors; a glue stick (better than clear nail polish for arresting a hosiery run); antistatic spray; several pencil erasers (the tiny eraser from a pencil makes a dandy temporary replacement for the back of a pierced earring). Put everything in a small, compact container, such as a pretty box or fabric bag.
Offer an evening of babysitting to someone who cannot afford a babysitter.
Go to a magazine stand and select a magazine you know someone would enjoy, maybe because of a hobby or a secret desire—to sail or skydive, for example. Wrap the magazine with a note saying “Look forward to this all next year!” Be sure to mail in the subscription card with a check.
Give a wicker bed tray or other container filled with fixings for breakfast in bed—muffin mix, jams or jellies, coffee beans, plus a subscription to a favorite newspaper.
Books make great gifts. But don’t limit yourself to shopping in the big chains. Secondhand bookstores are less expensive and often have out-of-print titles that can’t be found elsewhere. Also, these stores may sell old prints or maps that would reflect personal interests and be suitable for framing.
Pass along an heirloom to the next generation. Write up the history of the heirloom and encourage the recipient to display, use, and enjoy this new treasure.
Make an appointment for a beauty makeover for a young mother (massage, facial, and manicure) at a local beauty college. Volunteer to take care of the kids.
Gather old family movies, take them to a camera shop, and have them transferred to DVD.
Share a cord of firewood with a neighbor. Announce the gift in a card tucked between several logs wrapped with a wide ribbon. If possible, stack the wood between your properties.
A video makes a very special holiday greeting or gift. Put together a movie with highlights of the past year. Include birthday celebrations, summer vacation footage, sporting events, a school play, and other special moments. A festive way to end the movie is to gather the family and sing “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.” A video or DVD like this will bring joy to faraway family members long after Christmas has come and gone.
Gift Ideas for Senior Citizens
An adult child can give date-a-month coupons to a parent. A man setting aside time to spend alone with his mother, or an adult daughter taking her dad out once a month, is a lovely gesture. Some months your evening together could include a movie, other times, just dinner and time to talk and listen.
Take Grandma or Grandpa on a movie date. Pick them up and treat them to a night out. If they prefer, rent a movie and bring snacks.
Give a book on CD to a senior citizen whose eyes are failing. Wrap with a small headset and CD player. Lend him or her your CDs and offer to include a trip to the library for more.
For an elderly person with failing vision, give a subscription to the New York Times Large Print Weekly, which offers a select package of the week’s news printed in 16-point type—about twice the size of the regular type. The cost as of this writing was $1.65 or $3.30 per week, depending on delivery method. For more information, call 800-698-4637 or go to http://homedelivery.nytimes.com, scroll to the bottom of the page, and look for “You may also like.” In that box, select “Large Print Weekly.”
Fill a pretty box with a variety of greeting cards, a pen, and a roll of postage stamps for someone who is housebound.
Give a photo album to grandparents filled with pictures of baby’s typical day—morning bath, breakfast, taking a walk, playing, greeting Daddy, being rocked to sleep. Update photos throughout the year as baby grows and the days are more eventful. A video recording in which baby is the star is also a terrific gift.
Gifts for Specific Enthusiasts
For baseball and sports enthusiasts. The Hall of Fame museum store, Cooperstown, New York, offers baseball collectibles, memberships, certificates, uniforms, T-shirts, and unique baseball items; Baseballhalloffame.org; 888-425-5633. Fogdog Sports represents and carries all major brands and major sports categories. Items range from socks to official jerseys; Fogdog.com; 800-624-2017.
For nature enthusiasts. Check out the National Park Service and National Park Bookshop for everything from annual park passes to books and gift items; NPS.gov.
For game enthusiasts. This company sells every game that’s new and in print. It doesn’t sell out-of-print games but features links to sites that will find and sell out-of-print and used games; GamePreserve.com; 800-414-2637.
For space enthusiasts. The Kennedy Space Center online store features gifts, trinkets, toys, educational materials, and memorabilia; KennedySpaceCenter.com; 321-449-4444.
Everything you can think of with a space theme, such as talking lunar landers, NASA items, astronaut memorabilia, CDs, and games, can be found at Thespacestore.com; 877-698-0704.
For cowboy enthusiasts. The world’s largest western store offers western wear, hats, chaps, boots, even spurs; Sheplers.com; 888-835-4004.
For museum enthusiasts. The San Francisco Exploratorium’s online store is full of fascinating things in every price range to look at, play with, and learn from for everyone from toddlers to teenagers to so-called grown-ups; Exploratoriumstore.com; 415-397-5673. Also, the Smithsonian Institute has a wonderful catalog as well as online store; www.SmithsonianStore.com; 866-945-6897.
For philatelic enthusiasts. Subway Stamp is the world’s largest stamp and coin-collecting supply and information company; Subwaystamp.com; 800-221-9960. The United States Postal Service offers stamps, supplies, stamp-collecting kits, gifts, and more in most of its post offices as well as online at USPS.com; click on “Store.”
For doll enthusiasts. The American Girl Store features books, doll clothing and accessories, event information and tickets, tours, and dolls; AmericanGirlStore.com; 800-360-1861. You will find dolls and accessories for every occasion and at every price range at edolls.com; 973-275-0041.
For airplane enthusiasts. Find high-quality transportation collectibles and the most extensive selection of aviation videos, books, and kits; Airplaneshop.com; 800-752-6346. Find all types of high-performance paper airplanes and gliders; Whitewings.com; 800-233-7174.
For philanthropy enthusiasts. Choose a gift that changes lives: essential needs, good health, nourishing food, training, education, empowering families, and handcrafted items; Worldvisiongifts.org; 888-511-6548.
Kits are available for you or your organization to assemble: school kits, health kits, clean-up kits, and baby kits; Churchworldservice.org; 888-297-2767.
For weather enthusiasts. Twister Enterprises loves tornadoes and twisters. They have captured this phenomenon of nature in one of their products, the Pet Tornado; Explore4fun.com; 303-499-1716.
For tea enthusiasts. Adagio Teas is a unique company that carries teas from all over the world. Find gift sets, international teas, herbal teas, tea accessories, expert recommendations, and more; Adagio.com.
For cooking enthusiasts. This site’s gift center features favorite equipment at every price range and discounts on many items for birthdays, kids, and gourmet gift baskets. Items are also categorized by interests and hobbies, occasions and events, and departments. They’ll even gift wrap; Cooking.com; 800-663-8810.
Online shopping safety reminder: Always consider that shipping and handling costs are part of the purchase price. Know what they are before you make your final decision. Pay only with a personal credit card, never a debit card, business credit card, or check. Only a personal credit card provides the consumer protection you need when ordering online.
When you make a purchase, enter the full amount into your checkbook as if you’d written a check for that amount, and deduct it from the balance.
After completing the transaction and before leaving the website, print out the details about your order and specific information about the merchant just in case the page disappears or you forget how you found it in the first place.
More Gift Ideas
Here are more gift ideas contributed by faithful fans and clever members of Debt-Proof Living online.
One Christmas I was at a loss for what to give my friends and family. I was short on cash and would not use my credit card. I was at a Hallmark store with a friend. There on the counter were some pretty rocks with words carved into them. I started thinking it would be nice to personalize something like that for friends and family—so I did!
I went to a craft store and bought some little paper boxes for 99 cents each. I then bought a bag of river rock for $5.00. I made a list of ten things that I treasured about each family member and friend and then decorated a box for each with their favorite things on the outside using stickers and stamps I had at home. I wrote each person’s name and “Treasure Box” on the outside. I washed the rocks and then used a felt-tip marker to write on the stones the things I treasured about that person. Then I decoupaged each stone.
I packaged the stones in the decorated boxes with colored tissue paper and some candy. I made up a tag that said, “Inside you will find ten things I treasure about you. I hope you will use this treasure box when you are feeling down to realize how much I care about you. I also hope you will add your own treasures to the box and remember to live with joy!”
Everyone flipped for this gift! Most said it was the best gift they had ever received. This was a gift for me too, as I was able to take time to think about the wonderful people in my life and how much I cherish them as I wrote their “treasures” on the stones. This was a project that was inexpensive, easy, and gave so much back.
Elaine O., California