Comments on: 2007 Gift Giving Guide: Experience giving

By: Dori

Dori — Sat, 03 May 2008 18:17:53 +0000

We started giving flowers to our grandmothers (88/90) about five years ago. All of the grandchildren pitch in and we have a bouquet of whatever flowers are in season sent to them each month - cut flowers/no vases. We tell them how much we want the bouquet to cost (we go with $15 + delivery). Once we split it out it’s very reasonable and Grandma gets a gift she can enjoy all year long.

By: Suzyn

Suzyn — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 18:59:07 +0000

May I suggest another category? Classes - anything from a 1hr workshop on wine appreciation to a continuing ed class at your local college… I just got my husband a gift certificate for a half day digital photography class - he’s so excited!!

By: Nancy

Nancy — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 21:53:22 +0000

I have to say, a GC for a massage is one of the best gifts I ever received. I’d gladly accept gift certificates for any spa services from a manicure to a full day at the spa…or a trip to Miraval.

By: Helen South

Helen South — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 04:41:26 +0000

I love the charity idea - I got a grove of trees in Scotland for my 40th (part of a reforestation project). The best present ever!

Consumable gifts are great too, especially if you take the time to find out the recipient’s needs - I always hate it when I have to give away or throw out a too-perfumed product that I’m unable to use. I think my perfect small-budget gift would be organic home-baked brownies, or a bar of organic chocolate wrapped in the newspaper comics pages and tied with a re-useable ribbon.

By: Marie

Marie — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 21:59:13 +0000

“Fashionable golf shirt”?

By: Cyndi

Cyndi — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 17:17:55 +0000

If anyone else is interested in giving animals in someone’s name, look up Heifer International. It is a great organization, and has a wide variety of animals you can “gift” - cows, sheep, pigs, ducks, rabbits, etc.

Another option is to check out the store at the Hunger Site. You can buy shoes for school children or pay a teacher’s salary for a year in rural Pakistan (only 40$).

By: Prairie Gal

Prairie Gal — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 16:56:52 +0000

Foodtv.ca has some great suggestions for make your own gift baskets of consumables for foodies.

http://www.foodtv.ca/holidays/gift_giving.aspx

By: jamie

jamie — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 16:15:04 +0000

I have a great idea for gifts for my parents. Especially on this website, people KNOW that many of us don’t need anything. We are so blessed in the country with more than we even need. But in some parts of the world, this is not at all the case. That’s why I’m giving my parents GOATS. Through a program from my church, I can buy goats, oxen, animals, other supplies and services, and then give my parents a gift card that has a picture of that gift, explaining where their gift will be put to use. The goats, for example, will be given in Tanzania, where a goat is apparently a really good thing to have! I think this is so much in the spirit of what Christmas is truly about, and at the same time it doesn’t contribute to more clutter, junk, or useless gifts in my life or my loved ones. Check it out!

https://secure.crwrc.org/catalog/index.php?cPath=23

By: Tameson O'Brien

Tameson O'Brien — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 15:30:37 +0000

My Mom gives my husband a gift certificate to the golf course every year to pay for some of his greens fees - perhaps your Dad would like that.

By: mary

mary — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 14:14:03 +0000

I like to do the gift certificate for a dinner or lunch. (for the older people)

Honestly, though….I don’t want Christmas presents. My husband and I don’t exchange at all. For me Christmas is for the children. (Santa and all that)

Every year I HAVE to buy a gift for an 80 year old aunt. If you don’t give her something you are in trouble. Hence the dinner. Then I get chemical cookies from her that go directly into the trash.

By: Kate Saltfleet

Kate Saltfleet — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 13:33:22 +0000

These are great ideas for memorable gifts. Anything that is consumable as opposed to a “thingumy” type of present gets the thumbs up from me.

A selection of gourmet food wrapped up in hamper would make a fantastic gift. I’m sure that anyone who has a dietary requirement such as coeliac or is vegan would really appreciate the thought behind such a collection of suitable delicious food.