2007 Gift Giving Guide: Online giving
This installment of the Unclutterer Gift Giving Guide explores the virtual world of online subscriptions.
Subscription services like Consumer Reports, Lexis-Nexis, and a flickr Pro account make great gifts. As opposed to physical subscriptions, these online services keep clutter out of your gift recipient’s home.
A subscription to Audible is a great option for book lovers on your list. Music lovers might enjoy a gift certificate to iTunes. For movie enthusiasts, you might consider Amazon’s Unbox or TiVo-Unbox pre-payments.
In the past, I also would have suggested The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. The New York Times is now free to the public, and rumors are flying about The Wall Street Journal heading that way, too. So, those are off the list.
Flower of the month and fruit of the month clubs are subscriptions that allow you to give something tangible throughout the year, but impermanent additions to a home–and you can order them from the comfort of your home.
When you are trying to keep clutter out of your gift recipients’ homes, consider virtual gift options.
Popularity: 15% [?]
Posted by Erin on Nov 29, 2007 |
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14 comments posted
Posted by Marie - 11/29/2007
I always appreciate Amazon.com gift certificates. They can be given in practically any amount and the recipient can then buy nearly anything online.
Posted by galnoir - 11/29/2007
I’m enjoying this series on gift giving. If it’s not too much digital clutter, would you please consider tagging these posts, or otherwise grouping them, so that Unclutterer readers can have them all in one place? Thanks!
Posted by Nancy - 11/29/2007
Not only are digital subscriptions great for eliminating clutter, but they are also great for saving the rain forest(eco-friendly).
Flowers of the month sound great, but don’t forget about the gift I would never turn down… Wine of the Month. http://www.WineGlobe.com has a few selections for their wine clubs featuring different regions, etc.
Posted by Jamison - 11/29/2007
Great ideas! I love Flickr, but hadn’t thought of it as a gift. I also know a traveler who would love an Audible.com gift certificate. Thanks for the suggestions.
Posted by MadMolecule - 11/29/2007
eBay gift cards are wonderful: http://giftcard.ebay.com/
Posted by Erin Doland - 11/29/2007
@galnor — in the column immediately to the right of this one, in the Categories section, click on the “Gift Giving Guide” link for all of the posts. Also, in a few days, we’ll do a wrap up of the full series. Thank you for the feedback! We’ll definitely do this again next year
Posted by Andamom - 11/29/2007
What about a subscription to Netflix? Or maybe your loved one would like Safari Books Online (a virtual library)! Of course, there are people who might enjoy ebooks.com too.
Posted by CAP - 11/29/2007
I’ve been asking people for “unclutter” type gifts this year. I’ve asked for tickets to shows, classes, and museum/zoo memberships. We can’t afford this stuff right now and it will be something we can enjoy for a long time.
BTW, I’m really enjoying the series on gifts.
Posted by elizabeth harper - 11/29/2007
Hi, can you fix the link to the rumors about WSJ going free online? At present clicking on it just leads to an error page.
Posted by Erin Doland - 11/29/2007
@elizabeth harper — The “rumors are flying” link is fixed. The original article disappeared sometime between five this morning and now. Grrrr. Tech Crunch has a good alternative, though, so you can read about the rumors there. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Posted by Adam - 11/29/2007
Pittman and Davis has a fruit of the month club that in my opinion is better than Harry and David.
http://www.pittmananddavis.com
Support them, they’re a family company!
Posted by Tracey - 11/29/2007
Gift Donations are also nice. This year a dear friend of mine will be given the gift of a donation to the EFF (http://www.eff.org). He’ll get a t-shirt or something out of it and they’ll get a donation – works for me!
Posted by Cynthia Friedlob, The Thoughtful Consumer - 11/30/2007
Well, you can order this very practical gift on-line so I guess it qualifies for this category: a membership in the auto club!
I got my first car while living in Colorado where the snow can really cause trouble, and my gift membership to AAA saved me on more than one occasion.
Now, many years later, the California freeways make me happy that I’m still a member.
Posted by Sasha - 11/30/2007
A *very* nice gift would be a chocolate subscription! http://www.lakechamplainchocol.....-Club.aspx
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