Homemade Christmas Gift Ideas

This Christmas Give The Greatest Gift Of All

2006-12-19T11:57:00.000-08:00

It is Christmas season and we are all in our last minute shopping frenzy trying to find that perfect gift for those people who are special in our lives. Because these people are so important in our life we want to make sure that the gift we choose – will be fully appreciated and enjoyed by each of them. We want this gift to reflect how much we truly care. We want these people to know how much they mean to us.

The value of a Gift can be measured from two perspectives: from the viewpoint of the person giving the gift and from the viewpoint of the person receiving the gift.

As a “Giver” of a gift, we tend to associate how much we value the person to whom we are giving the gift by the cost or expense associated with the gift. The more we like someone, the more special and the more precious the gift needs to be.

Not too surprisingly, the Receiver of a gift frequently uses the exact same analysis. If the receiver knows it cost little for the Giver to provide such a gift, the receiver knows he or she really wasn’t too important to the Giver. Conversely, if the Receiver recognizes that the gift being given came at a great expense to the Giver, he or she immediately knows how important they are in the eyes of the Giver.

Since we have experienced playing the role of both “Giver” and “Receiver” in the past we know this is true.

So, what then is this most precious thing we have that we can give to someone to show them how important they are in our life? What is this thing that if we were to give it to them, they would immediately know and appreciate how much we value them in our life? It is the one thing we value the most, because we have so little of it. It is the one thing they will appreciate the most because it is all they really want from us.

This special gift, this most precious of gifts – is our time. The people who love us don’t want material gifts, they want us! They want to know how much we care for them, they want to know how important they are in our lives, they want to know we care for them so much that we will gladly give our most precious resource, our time.

This Christmas, give the gift of “time”. Find a way to be with the one(s) you love. Yes, that will be difficult...but the more difficult it is, the more they will appreciate it and you. If you cannot find a way to be with them physically, pick up the phone and be with them mentally. In this world of Christmas Cards and emails – a phone call has become special.

Show them how much you care!

Merry Christmas

Tags: Christmas Gifts, Christmas, Homemade Christmas Gift Ideas, Gift Ideas

The Perfect Christmas Gift For A Teenager

2006-12-08T11:48:00.000-08:00

For some reason, a lot of people ask me what is a good Christmas gift for a teenager, like I would know. The problem is that, although I have three teenage daughters and a teenage son, I can not be responsible for what other people get for their kids. I mean, come on. There are a million Christmas gift ideas out there, and no two teenagers are alike, even if they do all tend to dress as if they are. Christmas gifts for teenagers, like teenagers themselves, have to change, and so you should really talk to your own kid about what they might want for the holiday. Teens are usually pretty forthcoming about gifts.

When you’re shopping for holiday gifts, having a diverse group to shop for can be very challenging. There’s no one stop shop that will have something for everyone.

Of course, you might not be able to talk about your Christmas gift for a teenager if your point is to simply surprise them when the holiday comes. This can be a whole lot of fun, and I must recommend it. If you can catch a teen off guard with something that they have always wanted, but not gotten around to asking for, it can be such a festive occasion. Of course, what is the perfect surprise Christmas gift for a teenager is anyones guess. For a lot of girls, a nice piece of jewelry that they have never seen before might just be the perfect teenage Christmas gift. For boys, by contrast, they might want a new gadget or gizmo, such as an mp3 player, or a radar detector for their car. Girls like gadgets too, so think about a digital camera or a webcam for her computer as a gift. If you don’t know what to get your jock teen for Christmas, try this idea: a team jersey. Find out what his favorite team is in whichever sport, and buy some team memorabilia. Make him feel like part of the team with an official team jersey.I think that you will still have to sound your kid out to figure out the right Christmas gift for a teenager. It is not like there is some magic Christmas gift for a teenager formula that will tell you the right answer or idea.

The important thing with a Christmas gift for a teenager is the same as what is important for any Christmas gift. It has to be from the heart. If you take the time to find something that you think your teen will want, they will appreciate it, and it will probably be a whole lot more useful and in much better taste than anything that they would have gotten for themselves. The fact is that, as long as your Christmas gift for a teenager is from you, they will like it, because what are the holidays for, after all, but spending time with the family and friends.

Tags: Christmas, Christmas Gift Ideas, Teen Gift Idea, Gift, Teen Gift

How To Choose A Christmas Gift For A Man

2006-11-30T07:27:00.000-08:00

I am sick of the marketing of Christmas, and I bet that you are as well by now. Oh, I know, people have talked to death about commercialism and consumerism and such, but these are not the things that anger me the very most. No, not at all. What angers me most is the way that our rigid roles are reinforced by the ways that people market their Christmas gift ideas. This, they will say, is the right Christmas gift for a man, that the right Christmas gift for a woman, and the other, the perfect Christmas gift for a teenager – as if the whole personality of someone could come down simply to their gender and age. Let me say this plainly now, and not be misunderstood: there is no ideal Christmas gift for a male. They may tell you that a Christmas gift for a man is a pocket knife, or a new tie, or a war book, but all of that is hogwash. The only perfect Christmas gift for a man is the gift that that man wants, and men are as different from each other as they are from women or teenagers.

Of course, I know that the companies market Christmas gifts for a man partly as a way to make things easy for the consumer. They want to put things that men usually want all together, so that when someone does go out and look for a Christmas gift for a man, they will see them all in one section. But beyond that, I think that the system of having men's Christmas gifts and women's Christmas gifts has a more sinister function. I think that they do it all to cement their hold over us. If a Christmas gift for a man is a pocket knife or a nice watch, then every year you have to buy all of the men in your life one of these things. And so on.

It is really every bit as sinister as all that, and I am not joking. There are people who spend years thinking about how to best market to a group of people, and this is how they think. They will try to make everyone buy the most expensive Christmas gift for a man that they can, and that way they will make more money. And money is, of course, what the holiday is all about for these companies.

Since men are quite particular to the practicality of their stuff, make sure that you give him items that the man can use. Before starting that journey of finding the perfect Christmas gift for him, make sure that you take into consideration his personal preferences or inclinations.

If you've looked all around and still can't find the perfect gift, consider a gift card. For the man that is truly impossible to shop for, let him do the shopping for himself. Gift cards are great because they give the recipient an opportunity to buy anything in the store, as determined by the value of the gift card, without spending a dime.

Tags: Christmas Gifts, Christmas, Christmas Gift Card, Christmas Gift Ideas

Christmas Gift Ideas

2006-11-28T21:30:00.000-08:00

It is almost that time of the year again - Christmas. It is a holiday that is considered the most peaceful and anticipated throughout the year and yet it causes so much stress for many. Everyone has an easy time making lists of who they need to get a gift for, but have a difficult time coming up with a Christmas gift idea for everyone. It is not an easy task to find the perfect Christmas gift idea for each and every person on your list but sometimes a little bit of creativity may help you find something that is unique and appreciated. When you make your list of people - figure out what they like and are interested in. It is sometimes impossible to come up with a Christmas gift idea for someone if you don't know much about them. However, if you do find yourself having to come up with a Christmas gift idea for someone you don't know very well, there are many things that you can do. Gift baskets with a theme always work well for people, as do gift certificates.

If you do know the person well, it will be easier to find a Christmas gift idea that will be fun and score you some bonus points. If the person is interested in sports, perhaps you can get some tickets to a game or a jersey. While that may be out of your price range, you can find a hat or t-shirt for less money and still be sports related. Golf fanatics will always appreciate passes for games of golf or a theme basket as well. Making a sports theme gift basket is an excellent Christmas gift idea as well. You can put a hat in the basket, some favorite snacks for watching the games, tickets, etc. That may end up being a Christmas gift idea that will be used over and over again.

If you really cannot come up with a Christmas gift idea for someone, try asking around. Ask a friend or a spouse, someone who may know them better or have heard them mention something that they may want. Getting inside information can help you find the perfect Christmas gift idea in no time at all. Unique items such as paintings or other forms of art can make a unique Christmas gift idea for some people. While that is not something that would be appreciated by everyone, some people may adore the thought and gift.

Don't blow the budget. Set an amount of money that you can afford to spend and stick to it. Even small children can be a part of this. Explain to them that Santa can only give a few things on each list because there are so many children, in the world. Look up a census of different countries so they can get an idea of the huge amount of children that Santa has to deliver gifts to. Trying to please everyone, with the perfect gift that we cannot afford, sets us up for long term buyer's remorse.

Behind every good gift sent there is a person who worked hard to make the best choice. The secret to buying the perfect gift is to think about the message you want to send out, when the receiver opens it. If you think about his or her hobbies, to his or her vacation plans etc. It means you have really studied that person and you bought the present precisely for them, for that occasion; in this case, Christmas.

Traditional gifts always serve as a good Christmas gift idea when it comes to being something that people enjoy. That could be tickets to movies, restaurant gift certificates, store gift certificates or anything along those lines. Of course, a gift certificate is always a good Christmas gift idea when all else fails.

Tags: Christmas Gift Ideas, Christmas, Gift