RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—When I was growing up, at least some of the gifts under the tree each year were homemade. My father had perfected the art of knitting, though he only knitted two things: afghans done in squares about a foot across, and socks. The afghans squares looked totally random during construction, but when laid out in the proper arrangement for my Mother to sew together (my father insisted sewing was beyond him), a landscape of houses, hills and clouds appeared. The socks he churned out mostly in the fall, so no one in our extended family had to worry about cold feet for the rest of the winter.
These days I still look forward to receiving gifts that contain something of the presenter, rather than something they purchased off the shelf. In return, I prefer to give the special people in my life something that contains a bit of me. Maybe you agree with that sentiment. Or maybe you find yourself a bit short of cash this season. Or you like the idea of gifts that don't need to be covered in wrapping that will be ripped up and thrown out. Whatever your motivation, here are some gift ideas that don’t depend on calculating the APR and finance penalty of your credit card.
Cook up a gift. Over the years I’ve made jams and syrups (the jars have all sorts of uses after the contents are gone), baked up megabatches of all-natural fruitcakes (even avowed fruitcake-haters loved them), and layered the makings of cookies or bean soup into antique canning jars picked up cheap at yard sales during the year. If cooking’s not your thing and you don’t want to give it a try, consider creating gift boxes of bulk food items and locally produced food. Pack them into a basket, baking pan, or one-of-a-kind serving dish bought at a local thrift store. (Editors' note—see the Rodale Recipe Finder for plenty of recipe ideas that even a novice can handle. We recommend the cake, cookie, dessert, and pie categories, especially if we're on your gift list.)
Give a gift of words and pictures. Make a read-along CD or tape for a child in your life who’s just learning to read: Find out what books the child enjoys, borrow them (from the family or your library), and record yourself reading out loud. For younger kids, their very own booklet or album filled with pictures of themselves, their pets, and important places, friends, and family members makes a thrilling gift.
Give some time. Make gift certificates offering the recipients a useful service you can provide: cleaning help, a home-cooked meal at your house or theirs, baby sitting, pet sitting. Offer to paint a room, fix a broken fence…whatever you’re willing to commit to. The offer can be time-based (4 hours of help in the garden) or task-based (shovel snow out of the driveway three times). Your own kids may get a kick out of “get-out-of-one-chore-free” cards, or vouchers allowing them to pick the theme of a special family event, such as a game or video night.
Give an event. Invite your friend(s) to go for a hike, bike ride, or other activity. You provide transportation, cover any incidental expenses—trail fees, parking charge, gas—and provide coffee/drinks/snacks before, after, or during.
Hopefully that gets your thrifty, creative juices going. Next week, I’ll tell you how to wrap those gifts, without wasting money on paper that’s trashed 2 seconds after the gift is opened.
Farm gal, library worker, and all-around spendthrift Jean Nick shares advice for green thrifty living every Thursday on Rodale.com.