Comments on: 2009 Gift Giving Guide: Gifts the Unclutterers are giving

By: Allison

Allison — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 03:57:57 +0000

Personalized items (monogrammed etc…) and a few useful gadgets (wireless of course)!

By: wendy

wendy — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 00:29:43 +0000

I have an elderly friend who is losing her eyesight. She adores pomegranates but has a hard time getting into them. I have bought two huge juicy ones. On Christmas Eve I will pull them apart for her and deliver in a nice re-usable bowl with a bow on top.

By: Polly

Polly — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 22:25:06 +0000

I am giving pineapples from Hawaii. They are a rare treat that folks definitely won’t buy for themselves and they are not going to clutter up anyone’s home after the holidays.

By: Ellen

Ellen — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 18:30:20 +0000

For people who don’t want “stuff” and don’t really *need* anything, there are plenty of charity gifts that you can give, such as:

The FEED Bag: It’s a reusable bag you can use for groceries (or whatever you would like) and the profits go to feed hungry children in the world.

Land In Australia: You can buy someone you love 10 square feet of land in Queensland, Australia to be preserved. They get a certificate too!

Plenty more ideas (with links) in an article we posted today, actually

By: timeblogger

timeblogger — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 18:29:35 +0000

A great gift for someone who loves planning on paper would be the new PersonalPix Monthly Photo Tabs. Available at http://www.daytimer.com/personalpix, they allow you to upload your own photos and create gorgeous, customized monthly tabs for the time-management expert on your list. If they already use a daily planner – this will likely be seen as a welcome addition – rather than useless clutter.

By: henave

henave — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 18:11:47 +0000

Other than giftcards for the teachers and bus drivers, I am only giving gifts that my family/friends have told me they wanted. It is a lot of work to pin everyone down (I actually go to everyone and ask them what they want and ask for a link to a place to buy it if it is unusual) and takes away some of the excitement of a surprise, but it works out much better in the end.

If you are a plan-ahead kind of person, you can ask people to give you a few choices so they won’t know exactly what you are getting! I ask my husband for his list in October and he doesn’t remember half of it by the holidays, so it is like a surprise for him.

By: begoodbabe

begoodbabe — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 16:42:11 +0000

A few years ago I got tired with our family’s ‘Chinese’ gift exchange because the gifts had to be so generic that nobody wanted them. We didn’t NEED anything, so I suggested that we pool the $20 per person that we were spending on the gifts and buy something from the World Vision catalogue for a third world family instead. Much to my surprise and delight they got behind the idea immediately (I really thought that it would take a year or two to convince them!). The kids in the family are also included now that they are all over 10 years of age. To commemorate each Christmas gift I buy little painted wooden figures from the craft store, my husband drills a hole into the top, we put in an ornament hook and write the year on the back. Each child and each couple receives an ornament to remind them of what our family bought for another family that year. When the kids leave home they will all have their own collection of ornaments to take with them. It feels great to do something practical to bless someone else when we have been blessed with so much!

By: riddly

riddly — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 15:46:34 +0000

My sister persuaded us all that only small kids get presents- the cash that would be spent goes to a charity- our family managed water for a whole village through oxfam last year, and we got cool fridge magnets…..we have what we need, if one of us needed anything, the rest would rally round, (and we are all still storing ‘crap presents ‘ for sentimental reasons. Merry whatever you believe in -R

By: ashleyotis

ashleyotis — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 15:32:44 +0000

I asked for visa gift cards or gift cards to restaurants that my boyfriend and I love. I plan on using the visa gift cards to buy groceries or household things.. It gives me at least a week of stress-free groceries. Now, I just need someone to pay my rent… :]
My boyfriend and I bought ourselves a new TV that we got an AMAZING deal on and that’s pretty much it for presents between eachother :]

By: Ann Birnschein

Ann Birnschein — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 15:03:19 +0000

I discovered Restaurant.com gift certificates this year and was able to purchase $25 certificates for only $3. It’s a money saver and a great experience-type gift for my family. I’m wrapping them along with a bottle of spirits. My husband and I decided to forgo individual gifts and buy ourselves one useful item we’ve been wanting. This year that item is a GPS for the car which we got at a great deal on Amazon.com’s Black Friday special. We’re also giving our parents things they need like a TracFone and TV Antenna Booster. The nephews are getting books and a piece of clothing…no need for more toy clutter. Best of all, my sister-in-law and I decided we both wanted heated blankets so we’re essentially trading the same thing and looking forward to staying toasty warm in the Midwest this winter!

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 14:58:54 +0000

I decluttered my shopping experience. I embraced Cyber-Monday this year and I’m steering clear of the malls, except for my Angel Tree gifts for church and work. Oh, and I’m giving two copies of “UYLI1W”, because it’s THAT GOOD.

By: Liz

Liz — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 14:43:52 +0000

For many family members this year, I am giving them digitized versions of old family movies. I think I’m replacing about 20 video tapes at my parents’ house with 2 DVDs or a flash drive. Plus, these things will be much better preserved and easier to share with family near and far.

By: Leah

Leah — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 14:17:45 +0000

I’m making homemade lotion this year. I got a bunch of baby food jars from my local freecycle group and ordered the supplies from amazon.

I wanted to make it for myself because I’m allergic to lots of commercial scents and chemicals in regular lotion. So I decided to make a big batch and include a couple of different essential oil scents so everyone can have a choice: lavender or lemon.

I budgeted about $60 for all the lotion stuff, and I bought my dad a cool piece of pottery from ebay for $20. He’s not a scented lotion guy.

By: Gail Gray

Gail Gray — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 13:37:25 +0000

I am giving all the ladies in my life a book…with permission to pass it on to someone else. For the grandparents, photobooks of the kids. And for my parents, the Kindle so they don’t clutter their shelves with books.

By: Molly

Molly — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 12:58:26 +0000

@Magchunk – Adopting a kitty is a WONDERFUL gift for you and your honey! What a great idea!

Several years ago my honey took me to adopt a kitty when I wasn’t feeling well. I love that kitty. She’s currently asleep on his lap.