Let’s face it, many of us already have everything we need, which is part of the reason why gift giving often feels so difficult now. Yet, with some creativity, you can make the people on your holiday list happy by giving the gift of experiences...
Avoiding Disappointment
My youngest goes to speech therapy, where she is frequently rewarded with little prizes. Of course, teachers live on a budget, so these prizes are cheaply made, mass produced, little trinkets. Each time my daughter wins a prize, she’s so proud of it and happy. But inevitably, usually, the same day that she gets the prize, it’s broken. And then, she cries and is so upset. The last prize she got was a little china doll replica. She was very careful and gentle with this doll, but in less than a week, both the doll’s leg and arm had broken off.
Keeping “Stuff” Out of Landfills
My mom is a big fan of all things gimmicky. Last Christmas, she wanted to give my kids some cash for Christmas so they could use the money to buy something they really wanted. However, she thought giving money was too boring, so she bought these big plastic arcade game replicas. My kids had to take a plastic stick and move it through the game before a special lever would open and give them the money.
She thought it was cute. The kids had fun with it for about the five minutes it took them to get their money, but then I was left with three big plastic games whose sole purpose was to hold money in a trap until the user could figure out how to open it.
Wasting Resources
Just because companies can make things for pennies utilizing cheap labor in foreign countries doesn’t mean they should or that we should buy them. The bottom line is, when we’re buying gifts that people don’t need or want, we’re wasting resources, including our own money.
I would much rather my kids have fewer, but sturdier and better made, gifts than many little trinkets that will break in less than a month and end up in the landfill.
Because of these reasons, my husband and I have gradually shifted the gifts that we give our kids. Yes, I’ll admit, about seven years ago, I was guilty of buying a cheap toy at Walmart for Christmas, but these days, we avoid doing that. Instead we buy a few quality items, and lately, we’ve been switching to different kinds of gifts—gifts of experience or time.
Holiday Alternatives to Stuff
Let’s face it, many of us already have everything we need, which is part of the reason why gift giving often feels so difficult now. Yet, with some creativity, you can make the people on your holiday list happy by giving the gift of experiences...
Gifts for Adults
Gifts for adults are the most difficult because many adults just don’t have a need for anything. But what they may enjoy is time, especially time with you.
Dinner Out Together
If you’re wondering what to give your parents, consider giving the gift of time.
When is the last time you went out to dinner with your parents? If it’s been too long or not frequent enough, consider giving your parents the gift of a meal out, not just for themselves but with you or you and your family or you or your siblings.
Trip Together
If you have more money to spend, another great idea is to take a trip together. When I was between the ages of 18 and 24, my mom and I took a trip together every year. We just went for a few days, but we had a great time, and the trip was a nice way to reconnect. We haven’t been able to take that kind of trip since I went to graduate school. I know she would enjoy reconnecting again in that way, and so would I.
Why not consider getting away with your parents for just a day or two or three? Or, if you’re married, consider arranging a babysitter and planning a day or two getaway with just you and your spouse at an AirBnb or VRBO?
Box Meal Subscriptions
Another idea for adults is to gift them with tools for their favorite hobbies or past times. If your parents love to cook, why not consider gifting them with one of the many box meal subscriptions that are available now, such as Blue Apron. All of the food that they will need for their meals will be delivered to their door along with directions for preparing and cooking the food.
Another idea is a wine sampling subscription or a snack box subscription. The idea is to buy something that is a treat for them that they will not buy themselves.
Gifts for Kids
If you’re looking for gifts for your own kids or suggestions you can give others who are planning to buy gifts for your kids, think outside the traditional gifts, which are often more “stuff” that your kids likely don’t need.
Time with Grandparents
If your kids don’t have unlimited access to grandma or grandpa regularly, a special gift might be a day out with grandma or grandpa to do something fun like go out to eat, see a movie, go miniature golfing, etc. The idea is just to spend the day having fun and bonding. This is also a great gift that parents can give to their kids.
Lessons
A friend of mine gave her daughter six horseback riding lessons for her big Christmas present. This child had wanted to take horseback riding lessons, but the cost was outside the family’s monthly budget, so the parents saved for them for a few months and presented the lessons to their daughter. She was ecstatic, and now, four years later, she still talks about that Christmas present and how much fun it was.
My daughter would love to take gymnastics lessons, so this would be a perfect gift for her. There are so many classes now available to kids from sports lessons to cooking lessons to crafting lessons that it should be easy to find a lesson your child will enjoy and appreciate.
Season Pass
Does your child love going to the zoo or going to a family fun park?
Consider giving a family pass as one of the child’s presents or asking relatives to consider this as the child’s present. If this doesn’t feel like much of a present to you, you could decide to have one family present—the season pass—so all of the family can benefit, and then give the kids smaller, more personal gifts.
College Fund Contributions
This may sound like a boring gift, but your children or grandchildren will be very grateful for this gift when they’re in college and don’t have to take on student loan debt or as much student loan debt as their peers who didn’t have money saved for college. Another idea is to give one fun present and one present as the college fund contribution.
Conclusions
Just because we can buy cheap items made overseas doesn’t mean we should. Many American families are drowning in a sea of “stuff” that they don’t need or don’t use, while our society finds people increasingly lonely and isolated. Remedy both issues by giving the gift of your time with a loved one or giving the gift of an experience.
