Ideas to Give

Sooo, Christmas is right around the corner. People are saving their pennies for Black Friday and already scribbling down their lists and marking down electronics at Wal-Mart and Target as we speak.

This is usually the most generous part of the year for companies and for individuals alike. I like it when I see people giving. I also like to see what they give and whose like they're going to bring joy to.

And that brings me to my point of this post. Giving can mean different things to different people, but I love it when people give. Giving doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg. Just as long as it comes from the heart and is the best you can give, I say do it.

Although we are in an upswing in the economy, money still isn't growing on the nearest tree limbs.  So, I thought I'd provide a few ideas for giving this year that I believe would be great for family members, clients, co-workers or employees.

1. Gift baskets. They are the new cool thing when you're not exactly rolling the dough. You can even make them yourself, which puts a pretty nice personal touch and I like to include things I know people like such as fruit or snacks. Gift baskets don't exactly have be food-based, and can include books, CDs, socks, crochet kits etc. They're really nice gift givers.

2. Gift cards. They are not as personal, but they are pretty nice gifts for businesses. Now there are graphic designers that can personalize them for you with cute pictures or logos. I think having a designed photo of a funny office moment or office party selfie or group photo would go nice to personalize for co-workers or employees. For customers or clients, add something that you know your client likes. If your client is a pet lover, have a picture of the dog, cat, bird, etc. on it. 

3. Throw blankets or snugglies. Some may think that's corny, but these still made my list because of the cold weather coming upon us. They are pretty nice for co-workers and family members. If you want to personalize them, get a graphic designer to embroider a name on it. Match it with a nice coffee mug and you've got a pretty nifty gift.

4. Gas cards. Who in their right mind would turn their nose up at a gas card? Yeah, gas prices are pretty low, but we all still need gas. You can put them in a nice greeting card and they are pretty reasonable ranging from 20 to 100 upload amounts. Pretty cool, if you ask me.

5. And good ole cash. No one would turn down cash. I think that anything above 20 bucks is a nice gift for family members. Even children won't turn down money. I've known some to do money jars, where they put an unspecified amount of cash in a Mason jar and decorate the jar as a gift, or do a money tree. Whether you choose to "dress" your cash or not, it's still a great gift that no one will turn down.

I hope these ideas will be of a help to you in making decisions for your gift-giving as you stress out over holiday menus, decorating, and activity planning.