Thursday, November 12, 2009

A few gift ideas for the one who has everything

1) Purchase a few great-smelling potted herbs (rosemary and basil are a great start!), and replant them in a basket for an instant herb garden. Cover the soil with some craft moss for extra polish.
2) Send them a fresh evergreen wreath for the season (I like jillstwigwreaths.com).
3) Consider a personalized embosser for readers who loan out their books, or people who make their own stationery--just press it into a plain piece of paper or envelope. A personalized stamp is good for the cook who loves to give out her recipes. Expressionery.com often has 40% discounts.
4) Give a free date night or free babysitting. (Give ME housecleaning! Ha, ha!) Or as my mom did, give a puzzle, a Starbucks coupon, and a coupon for free babysitting--a date in a box!
5) Give a memory and an experience: Invite them out to a nice dinner you'll pay for, or for kids, give them a season pass to the zoo, tickets to a play, train tickets...the sky is the limit!
6) Give a coupon book. Since I'm bad at asking for things I need, my husband gave me coupon vouchers for a run to Starbucks, a girls' night out, a massage--all with an expiration date so I was motivated to use them!
7) Give to someone else. Worldvision.com has a catalog to give everything from a goat to fresh drinking water to job education for women, and you can give the gifts on behalf of someone else!
8) For the person overseas, send them an herb garden in an envelope--packets of seeds tied with a ribbon.
9) Give for a year--in a magazine subscription (Real Simple, Martha Stewart Living, Fine Cooking, Fine Homebuilding--it can be quite personalized!).
10) Give handiwork. Calligraphy, collages of your kids, great framed photographs of family members, lavender bath salts (kosher salt + lavender oil in an old Bell jar), homemade greeting cards...
11) Give a CD of songs that celebrates your relationship. (Pay for the songs.)
12) Give a kit to do something: a home spa kit; natural cleansers (I've done one post on these) in a caddy with microfiber cloths, etc.; a kit of things, with tickets, to enjoy stuff in their area (peanuts for a baseball game with a hat, etc.); a gardening starter kit; soda, microwave popcorn, and a DVD for a movie night; a mixing bowl, spoon, some spices, and a couple of favorite recipes; a pedicure kit.

1 comment:

Alison said...

Such super ideas! Thanks for sharing!