Christmas Gifts That Make a Difference
Published on - November 24th, 2010 (Modified on - December 10th, 2010) (by Donna Freedman) This is the first post from new GRS staff writer Donna Freedman. Donna writes the Living With Less personal finance column for MSN Money, and writes about frugality, intentional living and lifeitsownself at Surviving And Thriving.
Grandma probably doesn’t want another scented candle, but she could very well use a ride to the store. Your underemployed nephew would likely prefer a little help filling the pantry instead of a jokey T-shirt. And the sister who’s staying home with her kids may not be able to afford any extras just now. Instead of dropping $40 on a sweater, why not put that money toward a membership to the local museum?
You’ve still got a few weeks to think about Christmas gifts. Make this the year when you pick presents that actually help.
Giving gifts that help
I’ve put together a list of items that save the recipient money or fill a specific need. Prices range from as little as $5 to upwards of $50 or more — and some of the suggestions will cost you little except time.
- Warehouse club membership. If you’ve got $40 or $50 to spend, why not make it possible to buy in bulk all year long? Note that this gift isn’t suitable for folks who don’t buy much at a time or who have limited storage space — unless you offer to split some big buys with them. Frugal hack: If you’ve got a membership already then make up a gift certificate that says, “I will take you shopping once a month for 12 months.”
- Greeting cards. Some of us dinosaurs still like to send snail-mail birthday, get-well or “thinking of you” cards. You can get decent ones two for a buck at some dollar stores. I got an even better deal on Hallmark assortments at Walgreens: 10 cards to a box, two boxes for $5, or a quarter apiece. Ideally, you’ll spring for at least a 10-pack of stamps along with this gift. Frugal hack: Shop thrift stores and rummage or yard sales — a lot of really nice card sets end up deeply discounted in both places.
- Annual pass. A season’s membership to a local zoo, museum or theater company may cost less than you think.
You’re not only giving someone a year’s worth of entertainment, you’re investing in community organizations. Frugal hacks: Social commerce sites like Groupon or Buy With Me sometimes offer annual passes; sign up for a few of these services right away and see what pops up in the next few weeks. Be sure to buy the social commerce vouchers through a cash-back site for a 6% rebate. - Pet supplies. People who have recently lost their jobs or who are living on fixed incomes could be hard-pressed to provide for Fluffy or Fido. Find out what kind of kibble the animal eats and drop off a jumbo sack of the stuff, or one of those huge buckets of kitty litter. Possible frugal hacks: Watch for loss leaders at places like Petco and PetSmart, and pay with a discounted gift card.
- Yard work. Aging or chronically ill relatives might not be up to mowing, weeding, shoveling snow or cleaning out the gutters. Give a homemade gift certificate good for a certain number of hours of work each season.
- Supermarket or drugstore gift card. Your giftee can shop the best sales or treat himself to an item that’s normally out of his price range. Since some supermarkets sell gasoline, that card might come in real handy during a particularly tight week — you can’t get paid if you can’t get to work, right? Frugal hacks: Some drugstores give free gift cards if you fill or transfer a prescription. Some rewards programs and rewards credit cards offer them. Discounted gift cards for merchants like Shell, Exxon, Walgreens, Jewel-Osco, Safeway and Albertsons are often available for about 3% off; see above link for how to buy them.
- The Entertainment Book. It’s got discounts for food, movies, cultural attractions, sporting goods and all kinds of services. Frugal hack: Buy it through a cash-back site and you’ll get a rebate of up to 35% plus free shipping.
- Transit pass. For those of us who don’t own cars, the prospect of a month’s worth of public transit sounds mighty fine. Or how about paying for a year’s membership in a car-sharing service? Frugal hack: If you’ve got a car, make your gift “I will take you to do one errand a week (with advance notice) for the next year.”
- Community-supported agriculture. If money is no object, buy that special someone a CSA share. He’ll eat fresh produce from late spring until early fall, and you’ll be helping a local farmer stay in business. Go to this U.S. Department of Agriculture site and scroll down to “Find a CSA farm.”
- Prepaid calling card. Not everyone has unlimited minutes on his cell phone, or a cell phone at all for that matter. The card lets the recipient talk with relatives and friends without worrying about the phone bill. Frugal hack: If you’ve got unlimited minutes on your cell, arrange to let your relative or friend use it once or twice a month.
- Socks and underwear. Yes, you are turning into your mother. But these are the kinds of things we all need to replace. So if you know the person well enough to know his or her needs (and size!), then watch the clearance tables or use a price-comparison website to find the best deals. If this is a family with young kids, buy a size or two up.
- Green ’em up. Make your gift a bunch of compact fluorescents, faucet aerators and low-flower showerheads to reduce the giftee’s utility bills. Offer installation if necessary. If you’ve got money to burn consider installing a water-saving toilet, too. Frugal hacks: Pay with a discounted gift card from Lowe’s or Home Depot, or buy through a cash-back site, specifying “local pickup” (i.e., order online but go get it yourself) if free delivery isn’t offered.
- Car care. Buy a case of motor oil and filters and offer to do the changing if they’re unable and you’re handy. Or spring for a set of replacement wiper blades, some new floor mats and a gallon or two of windshield washer fluid. Frugal hack: Watch auto-supply store ads for sales and rebates.
- Medicine cabinet. Buy that special someone any or all of the following: a year’s worth of vitamins and supplements; cold or allergy medicines, nighttime cough syrup, lip balm, throat lozenges and those tissues with the lotion in them; analgesics, antibacterial ointment, bandages and the like. Frugal hack: Many of these items can be obtained cheaply or free after rebate.
All right, dear readers, it’s your turn: What suggestions do you have for gifts that help?
Tiger photo by Tambako.
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We gave our oldest son, who has allergies, a coupon for two hours of work (two people) in his yard. Instead of waiting for him to cash it in, we called and asked if a certain date was good. We then went over and weeded, trimmed, deadheaded and in general cleaned up his yard. I told my husband that I would love the gift of his time helping me in the yard next summer.
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Give to a charity in the name of a friend or family member. We live in the land of plenty, but some people have nothing.
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I agree with @amy and @Steve and a few others.
You really need to think about the recipient when you give “frugal” gifts. I know for myself, there was a time years ago when money was tight but I was able to pay all my bills and feed myself. The things that I missed were not the groceries or the help with the chores. I missed being able to go get a pedicure. I missed going to my favorite salon and getting my hair done. I missed being able to buy a pair of trendy but impractical shoes for the spring. I missed being able to go see a movie (much less a movie for a date at full price instead of a 2 p.m. on Saturday matinee).
For a lot of people, buying them food or paying their bills or buying them undies is insulting, as well as not being much of a gift. I always appreciated the people in my life who gave me things that I *wanted* (not crap to clutter my house) but didn’t make me feel like I was accepting charity. A gift certificate for a pedicure costs $25 or so in most cities. A gift certificate for 2 movie tickets is about the same. Heck, even a bottle of wine (something I wouldn’t have spent money on when I was on a tight budget) is a great gift. Something consumable that can be enjoyed with a friend.
OTOH, the CSA would be a much appreciated gift, since I love to cook and love to try new foods.
So again .. please take into account what your RECIPIENT wants and not just what you think is a good gift. Giving a gift should be about the receiver, not the giver.
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When we were teenagers, my grandmother would give us gift certificates to movies and fast food joints – not needs, but helpful when friends with more were going out. Also, magazines and pedicures are great “extras”. My grandfather once bought me an expensive book I really wanted but would never spend the money on.
I think underwear, socks, shoes, PJs and the like are okay IF the person receiving appreciates practical things and the item is of a nicer brand than the person would ordinarily buy (those things need to be kind of fancy). If it seems like those things are true needs, but the giver is afraid of being insulting, I’d say a gift certificate to WalMart or Target might allow the person to make his own choice.
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A gift I give that always hits the bulls-eye is a battery charger and rechargeable batteries. Every house has items that require batteries on an on-going basis….think TV remotes or childrens’ toys. Rechargeable batteries are an expensive outlay initially but save the recipient loads of money over time.
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One thing about a grocery gift card for someone feeling poor but who can afford groceries–the money they would have spent for groceries can now go toward a luxury item they couldn’t otherwise afford.
I like PawPrint’s idea about calling to ask if this is a good time for the gift recipient to cash in on the coupons–whenever I’ve given those, no one has ever cashed them in, but with a little prodding, they might have.
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I’m a (somewhat reluctant) pet rescuer and wish desperately that friends and family would give me pet food, gift certificates to my vet or Just offer to assist me when I take them to the vet.
Alas, I’m certain that, despite my gentle hints and apparent needs, I’ll be getting a thimble collection, stuffed toys, candles and other items that will only end up at the consignment shop where I’ll gratefully walk away with a few dollars.
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If you are doing the gas/grocery store/drugstore gift cards, make sure that it’s a retailer that has outlets in the location where your recipient lives. For instance, there are no Jewel-Osco or Exxon stations around my location, so that would be a pretty useless gift for me.
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My favorite gift after hearing the idea in a podcast (either NPR or the Economist, can’t remember) — is a donation in the recipient’s honor.
The story goes that an economist was studying the deadweight loss of gift-giving. In a nutshell, gift givers pay more for gifts than the recipient would pay for themself. When he originally presented his study, he recommended gift cards as a gift with no deadweight loss.
Realizing that gift cards can be kind of cold, he later recommended donations in the recipient’s name as having more warmth and no deadweight loss. Donating to charity is what everyone says they would do if they could afford it, and many people actually do do when they can, and it feels great. The giver, receiver, and charity all get significant satisfaction.
I tried this with my girlfriend for her birthday and she absolutely loved it. The key, of course, is to make it a charity they would like (or leave it up to them). In my girlfriend’s case, she’s an animal lover and has adopted a shelter cat, so I cruised http://www.charitynavigator.org/ for the best animal charity, and gave her the check to mail in to Actors And Others For Animals.
Even if the recipient isn’t terribly well off, don’t write off the donation. Proportionally, the poor give more to charity than the rich. Again, It’ll all hang on which charity. That’s your chance to show how well you know them.
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Movie ticket coupons are a thoughtful gift for people who hesitate to spend money to go to a theater. Costco offers discounted tickets that don’t expire (at least in California). Just make sure that the coupons are for a theater chain that your friend attends. That is, don’t buy AMC tickets for people near Century theaters.
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I keep a list of things that I find throughout the year that I would like to have, but wouldn’t buy for myself and it becomes my Christmas and Birthday list. I try to keep the same principal in mind when I buy or make gifts for others. I want them to be useful and something they wouldn’t think of for themselves.
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I love these ideas!
Another one that we’re trying this year are frozen slice-and-bake cookies, wrapped in wax paper, with ribbons on each end (wrapped kind of like a giant piece of taffy).
While we love the idea of a tin of freshly baked cookies, there are so many of these in December, and the thought of popping some cookies in the oven and enjoying them in January or February is very appealing.
You can do this with most standard Chocolate Chip Cookie recipes or Molasses Cookie recipes.
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