One of the downsides of the holiday season besides the stress and expenses imposed on us all, are the combined issues of not knowing what to get for someone and receiving unwanted/unneeded items as gifts. Nobody wants to be on either the giving OR receiving end of an awkward forced smile and and claims that the gift is lovely, despite it being anything but. One solution to this, as well as potentially a money saver, is to offer handmade certificates for experiences, rather than a physical gift.
We probably all remember as children giving coupons to our parents for things like ‘1 Free Hug‘, or ‘1 Breakfast in Bed‘. Who says this concept is just for kids? There are many things people would love to experience rather than receiving yet another gadget that will gather dust in a kitchen cupboard. Some of the ideas such as the museum, art gallery or amusement park, will cost some money when the gift certificate is redeemed, but this can potentially defer the cost of the gift until a time when money isn’t as tight.
Some examples could include:
- A trip to the museum or art gallery
- A trip to an amusement park
- Doing the dishes (or some other chore) for a month
- Meal preparation
- Romantic evenings
- Snow shoveling
- Lawn cutting
- Car washing
- Babysitting
- Cleaning
- Organizing
- Computer tech support
The possibilities are endless, use your imagination. You can get fancy certificate paper at your local office supply store, which makes it easy to create beautiful certificates right on your own printer.
Tags: activities, christmas, frugality
[...] on from the ideas presented in a recent article on Giving ‘Experience’ Gifts Instead of Things, what do you do if you can’t offer the type of experience your loved one would really enjoy? [...]