The holiday season is just around the corner. Soon you'll be surfing the Black Friday ads, embarking on a mission to find the perfect gifts for the most important people in your life, but let's be honest with each other for a moment. As parents, aren't we dreading it a little? I mean, I don't know about your house, but my house is already full of stuff! As much as I appreciate the gifts my children get; as much as I love to see the looks of joy on their face when my children open their gifts, I never really know where I'm going to put this stuff! Even when I vow to downsize, we end up with a pile of items to add to the clutter and ever growing mountain of items my children are convinced are homeless if neglected the luxury of living on their bedroom floor!
It's because of this dilemma that I've decided to get a little creative. While not all of these ideas are right for everyone, I'm pretty excited to share with you these 15 gift ideas to promote family, individualism as well as supporting good people and good causes!
1. Yearly/season passes: I especially love this idea for as a family gift! Many museums, zoos, aquariums, amusement parks and water parks have the option of purchases yearly passes or memberships! These often cover the cost of admittance, access to special events, discounts and sometimes more! This is a great way to promote family time, education and provide entertainment for an extended period of time and, the best part is, there's nothing to it but maybe a card that fits nicely into your wallet!
2. Become a Patreon: Patreon is a websites that Youtubers (and maybe Twitch streamers) use to help get support. When they create at Patreon page, followers can pledge to pay a certain amount each month to help support that content creater. They then use the money to continue creating videos. When you support them on Patreon, you will also receive perks reserved for their Patreon supports. The perks vary from creater to creater as does the pledge amounts but often times they start as low as $1! For those in your life who spend their time on Youtube, giving them the gift of being a Youtube supporter for their favorite Youtube channel may be the perfect gift! And, it's pretty much all done electronically!
3. Online Play: The gamers in your life may love you forever for this gift, though I would not recommend it for the younger names on your list. Both Playstation and Xbox game systems offer services with allow gamers to explore a variety of other, fun, advantages including some online game play options for some of your gamer's favorite games, but it does come at a price. PlayStation fans may turn to PlaySation Plus while Xbox players may long for Xbox Live to enhance their game play experience! Both offer year long services to explore, experience and enjoy the perks!
4. Adopt a wild animal: Don't panic! I'm not suggesting or run to the nearest exotic pet shop and acquire your favorite animal lover their very own gorilla! But there are organizations such as the WWF (World Wildlife Fund) that have programs which allow you to donate money to adopt a wild animal in need of some attention or protection. When you click the link above, you'll be whisked away to a page filled with amazing animals just waiting for you to adopt them! You'll also be presented with options offering a number of price ranges and fun perks in exchange! This is a great way to give back to others and offer a great gift that has more meaning then another item to be lost in the shuffle.
5. Buy/name a star: Give a gift that shines! While this gift is bright and huge, it won't take up much space in the house! Websites like Star-registration.com off you the privilege of owning your own star, complete with the fun of naming it! You'll receive a chart as well, helping you to locate your star during your star gazing! This is great gift for those scientific minded people in your life or a great way to let someone know that you know they are a star!
6. Adopt a tree: Here's another opportunity to adopt something big and precious! This would be a great gift for the environmentally conscious people in your life, ready to fight to protect our natural resources, or maybe for those loved ones who have lost someone special to them! A Living Tribute offers options for those looking to memorize a loved one as well as those celebrating someone awesome still in their life!
7. Store Memberships: Have you ever browsed your favorite store and made your selection before making your way up to the counter where the sales clerk asks if your a member of their exclusive club and, if not, would you like to be? Well why not make that part of your gift! I know a number of people who would love, for example, a book or a gift card and a membership to their favorite book store's club! These programs often offer exclusive deals, pre-orders and more! What a great gift for the book lover in your life, especially if you don't know the ever expanding list of books they hope to someday own!
8. Netflix subscription: This is another gift that would be great for a family or that college student that is stuck cramming all of their belongings into their dorm room! Netflix is a pretty mainstream thing now days, but that doesn't mean that it wouldn't make a great gift! Personally, we love Netflix and find that it is a great source of calm, laid back activities we can enjoy as a family! Even those who already have Netflix could benefit from a month or two off from having to make the payments themselves! What a great way to allow your favorite people access to countless sources of entertainment without filling their shelves with more DVDs then they could ever find a place for!
9. Amazon Prime: Amazon Prime has really expanded the number of opportunities it opens up! Online shoppers will love the deals and free shipping that comes with their online ordering escapades while still being able to take advantage of the streaming choices; opening the door to a number of movies and T.V shows brought directly to their T.V without the need to find a home for the physical case and DVD! There is just so much awesomeness that can be had!
10. Date Night: I originally thought of this as a great gift for couples, especially parents who don't have the chance to get out much but after thinking about it, I think this would also be fun for some one on one time with your kids or as an entire family outing! I know a couple of years ago, my husband and I were gifted with a gift certificate to the movies as well as a gift card to our favorite restaurant an a promise to babysit our kids! We so enjoyed the opportunity to go to the movies to see a movie we both really wanted to see and dinner without the stress of finding the money to afford it during the time of year that is the hardest for us financially! We went within a couple of days after Christmas and found that it was a great way to decompress after months of being on the go, stressing about money and fighting the nasty weather! Even though we had nothing physical to show for it, the experience was perfect!
11. Gas Card: I used to work with someone who, every year, gave her teenage son a gas card in his stocking. At first I thought it was kind of a lame gift, but then I started to think about it! While he had a job, this freed up the money he would generally spend on gas, at least for a week or two, to spend on something else. This allowed him to not have to decline time with friends because he couldn't afford the gas! Now that I'm a little older and my husband has spent months driving 45 minutes one way to and from work, I think about how nice it would be if someone gave us a gas card! It would help tremendously!
12. Game Fly: This is something like Netflix, only for video games! Game Fly will send you video games to play and send back, like a movie rental! I love this idea especially for those who receive a new system over the holiday season, as it would allow them to pick games they are interested in for their new system, test them and decide if they want to purchase them, or not while still allowing them to use their new gaming console!
13. Magazine Subscriptions: O.K, so this may create some clutter, but not all at once! I'm drawn to the idea that this can also provide educational content and give the excitement of receiving fun mail regularly! While you may be thinking of adult and teen titles, Zoo Books and Highlights also provide fun, educational and age appropriate content for the younger crowd!
14. Lessons: Sometimes the best gift you can give someone is your support, your belief in them and the opportunity to succeed! Paying for, or money to go toward lessons, enrollments in sports programs or classes for something they are interested in such as marital arts, instrumental instruction, voice lessons, acting programs, or private instruction just to name a few ideas, can be life changing!
15. Services: Often times you don't need to spend money to give a great gift. Offer your services. Donate time to baby sit so a young couple with a baby can take a break. Meet them at their house when they get off of work to make them dinner. Clean their house, or a room in their house for them or even shovel their walks for the rest of the season. You might be amazed by how big of a difference something so small can make!
I hope you've been inspired to make some creative gift giving decisions this year! This is the time of year to give, have fun and show love but in a way that is authentic and fun! Let's make someone smile without filling their house with more clutter!
Did I leave out a brilliant idea you have? Share it with me in the comments! I'd love to hear it!
It's because of this dilemma that I've decided to get a little creative. While not all of these ideas are right for everyone, I'm pretty excited to share with you these 15 gift ideas to promote family, individualism as well as supporting good people and good causes!
1. Yearly/season passes: I especially love this idea for as a family gift! Many museums, zoos, aquariums, amusement parks and water parks have the option of purchases yearly passes or memberships! These often cover the cost of admittance, access to special events, discounts and sometimes more! This is a great way to promote family time, education and provide entertainment for an extended period of time and, the best part is, there's nothing to it but maybe a card that fits nicely into your wallet!
2. Become a Patreon: Patreon is a websites that Youtubers (and maybe Twitch streamers) use to help get support. When they create at Patreon page, followers can pledge to pay a certain amount each month to help support that content creater. They then use the money to continue creating videos. When you support them on Patreon, you will also receive perks reserved for their Patreon supports. The perks vary from creater to creater as does the pledge amounts but often times they start as low as $1! For those in your life who spend their time on Youtube, giving them the gift of being a Youtube supporter for their favorite Youtube channel may be the perfect gift! And, it's pretty much all done electronically!
3. Online Play: The gamers in your life may love you forever for this gift, though I would not recommend it for the younger names on your list. Both Playstation and Xbox game systems offer services with allow gamers to explore a variety of other, fun, advantages including some online game play options for some of your gamer's favorite games, but it does come at a price. PlayStation fans may turn to PlaySation Plus while Xbox players may long for Xbox Live to enhance their game play experience! Both offer year long services to explore, experience and enjoy the perks!
4. Adopt a wild animal: Don't panic! I'm not suggesting or run to the nearest exotic pet shop and acquire your favorite animal lover their very own gorilla! But there are organizations such as the WWF (World Wildlife Fund) that have programs which allow you to donate money to adopt a wild animal in need of some attention or protection. When you click the link above, you'll be whisked away to a page filled with amazing animals just waiting for you to adopt them! You'll also be presented with options offering a number of price ranges and fun perks in exchange! This is a great way to give back to others and offer a great gift that has more meaning then another item to be lost in the shuffle.
5. Buy/name a star: Give a gift that shines! While this gift is bright and huge, it won't take up much space in the house! Websites like Star-registration.com off you the privilege of owning your own star, complete with the fun of naming it! You'll receive a chart as well, helping you to locate your star during your star gazing! This is great gift for those scientific minded people in your life or a great way to let someone know that you know they are a star!
6. Adopt a tree: Here's another opportunity to adopt something big and precious! This would be a great gift for the environmentally conscious people in your life, ready to fight to protect our natural resources, or maybe for those loved ones who have lost someone special to them! A Living Tribute offers options for those looking to memorize a loved one as well as those celebrating someone awesome still in their life!
7. Store Memberships: Have you ever browsed your favorite store and made your selection before making your way up to the counter where the sales clerk asks if your a member of their exclusive club and, if not, would you like to be? Well why not make that part of your gift! I know a number of people who would love, for example, a book or a gift card and a membership to their favorite book store's club! These programs often offer exclusive deals, pre-orders and more! What a great gift for the book lover in your life, especially if you don't know the ever expanding list of books they hope to someday own!
8. Netflix subscription: This is another gift that would be great for a family or that college student that is stuck cramming all of their belongings into their dorm room! Netflix is a pretty mainstream thing now days, but that doesn't mean that it wouldn't make a great gift! Personally, we love Netflix and find that it is a great source of calm, laid back activities we can enjoy as a family! Even those who already have Netflix could benefit from a month or two off from having to make the payments themselves! What a great way to allow your favorite people access to countless sources of entertainment without filling their shelves with more DVDs then they could ever find a place for!
9. Amazon Prime: Amazon Prime has really expanded the number of opportunities it opens up! Online shoppers will love the deals and free shipping that comes with their online ordering escapades while still being able to take advantage of the streaming choices; opening the door to a number of movies and T.V shows brought directly to their T.V without the need to find a home for the physical case and DVD! There is just so much awesomeness that can be had!
10. Date Night: I originally thought of this as a great gift for couples, especially parents who don't have the chance to get out much but after thinking about it, I think this would also be fun for some one on one time with your kids or as an entire family outing! I know a couple of years ago, my husband and I were gifted with a gift certificate to the movies as well as a gift card to our favorite restaurant an a promise to babysit our kids! We so enjoyed the opportunity to go to the movies to see a movie we both really wanted to see and dinner without the stress of finding the money to afford it during the time of year that is the hardest for us financially! We went within a couple of days after Christmas and found that it was a great way to decompress after months of being on the go, stressing about money and fighting the nasty weather! Even though we had nothing physical to show for it, the experience was perfect!
11. Gas Card: I used to work with someone who, every year, gave her teenage son a gas card in his stocking. At first I thought it was kind of a lame gift, but then I started to think about it! While he had a job, this freed up the money he would generally spend on gas, at least for a week or two, to spend on something else. This allowed him to not have to decline time with friends because he couldn't afford the gas! Now that I'm a little older and my husband has spent months driving 45 minutes one way to and from work, I think about how nice it would be if someone gave us a gas card! It would help tremendously!
12. Game Fly: This is something like Netflix, only for video games! Game Fly will send you video games to play and send back, like a movie rental! I love this idea especially for those who receive a new system over the holiday season, as it would allow them to pick games they are interested in for their new system, test them and decide if they want to purchase them, or not while still allowing them to use their new gaming console!
13. Magazine Subscriptions: O.K, so this may create some clutter, but not all at once! I'm drawn to the idea that this can also provide educational content and give the excitement of receiving fun mail regularly! While you may be thinking of adult and teen titles, Zoo Books and Highlights also provide fun, educational and age appropriate content for the younger crowd!
14. Lessons: Sometimes the best gift you can give someone is your support, your belief in them and the opportunity to succeed! Paying for, or money to go toward lessons, enrollments in sports programs or classes for something they are interested in such as marital arts, instrumental instruction, voice lessons, acting programs, or private instruction just to name a few ideas, can be life changing!
15. Services: Often times you don't need to spend money to give a great gift. Offer your services. Donate time to baby sit so a young couple with a baby can take a break. Meet them at their house when they get off of work to make them dinner. Clean their house, or a room in their house for them or even shovel their walks for the rest of the season. You might be amazed by how big of a difference something so small can make!
I hope you've been inspired to make some creative gift giving decisions this year! This is the time of year to give, have fun and show love but in a way that is authentic and fun! Let's make someone smile without filling their house with more clutter!
Did I leave out a brilliant idea you have? Share it with me in the comments! I'd love to hear it!
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