In less than a week, we’re going to be decking the halls and covered with tinsel, the smell of peppermint and hot cocoa pervasive. Everything will be painted red, white and green.
People will be wearing heavy coats and smiles. I love Christmas. It’s my favorite holiday—season, actually, because Christmas really is its own little time. The entire month of December is relegated to celebrating family, celebrating love, and celebrating getting through the year intact. Buying gifts for others and spending time with the people you love, watching cheesy Hallmark movies about Christmas romances or finding your Holiday Cheer; I love every part of it.
Speaking of presents… there’s always that one person in your family or group of friends, for whom it’s impossible to buy gifts. “I don’t want anything,” they say, “I’m fine.”
But they’re not fine. Everyone loves gifts, right?
Here are some ideas of what to get for the people you love, when they insist that they don’t need anything at all:
1.An Experience
Sure, maybe your friend/family member doesn’t want something material… but would they say no to going to a concert together? Try buying tickets to their favorite musical act! Of course, this is easier said than done—concert tickets can be expensive. There are alternatives, though, like taking them out to the movies or to grab dinner at an interesting or unexplored restaurant. Museum tickets or going to a garden might be something that they’d like; I enjoy taking my friends to a nearby pottery-painting shop. Escape room games, ghost tours, There’s always something to do, and spending that time and amount of effort on your loved one will surely delight them.
2. Food!
You rarely go wrong with food. Getting them a case of their favorite snacks or perhaps something a little more high-end (Christmas comes once a year, after all) will put a smile on their face! Some nice dad gifts could be an expensive slab of meat with seasonings, or perhaps your mother might enjoy ice cream custom-made to her tastes from eCreamery. There are a lot of options out there, but you’ll know their taste best!
3. Donate
Perhaps you have a friend that’s very passionate about a particular subject: environmentalism, animal abuse, child abuse, etc. A thoughtful gift would be making a donation in their name to a charity or organization that supports this cause. Be sure to look into whatever organization that you are donating to, though, to make sure that your money is going mostly to the cause rather than the company.
4. Gift Card
Another gift that is hard to hate; get your friend/loved one a card to a store that they love. Even if you have no idea what to get them, they’ll be able to spend this money at their leisure, on something that they know they will enjoy. While this isn’t as memorable a gift as some more tangible options, it’s probably the most versatile and most surefire one. Another option is giving your friend or loved one cash or a bank gift card, like the ones from Visa. These, you can spend anywhere. Beware of American Express, which deducts money from your card if you don’t use it quickly enough.
5. Subscription Boxes
This is a new trend that’s been slowly growing over the year. The idea is that a company, celebrity, or organization will send monthly boxes filled with supplies that you might enjoy. Boxes can be low-cost or a bit pricey, depending on who you purchase from. Here are some quality subscription boxes that you may look into:
o Birchbox: a beauty sampler subscription box at $10/month
o Birchbox Man available as well, for $20/month
o Lootcrate: a box for geeks and gamers at $13.95/month
o Scentbird: a perfume sampling box at $14.95/month
o Scentbird Men available at $14.95/month
o Love with Food Tasting Box: a healthy snack subscription at $7.99/month
o Dollar Shave Club: the original razor subscription service at $3/month
o And more!
Happy gifting, everyone!
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