How To Get Creative With Your Holiday Gifting

From a very young age, I was very conscious of the need to impart to friends and family members meaningful, if simple, gifts, particularly for the holidays. I have always delighted in seeing the reactions of the receivers as they open my gifts.

But in this economy, we unfortunately cannot lavish the same kinds of gifts on our loved ones. That means, of course, that we have to get creative!

Don't worry about impressing people or making sure their every desire is met. Instead, pour all your love into your holiday gifting, and for the people that really care, that will always be enough.

First, you will want to consider each person individually. You would do this anyway, but instead of thinking only of what they want, you should consider what they need.

For example, you can spread holiday cheer to elderly neighbors, parents, and grandparents by raking leaves, shoveling snow, doing laundry, or bringing over dinners. These gestures are tremendously helpful and truly convey your concern for those close to you.

Second, don't be afraid to use your own two hands and some inexpensive craft supplies. For friends, roommates, and others whose company you enjoy often, you can have a great time making a collage of photographs from some of your best times together.

You can do this by taking a piece of heavy cardboard or corkboard and carefully gluing photographs, sayings, individual words, and magazine cut-outs onto the board.

It is fairly inexpensive to go to your local drugstore and duplicate prints, particularly from a digital memory card. Just spray on a layer of acrylic protection, and you are good to go!

Along the same lines, putting together a scrapbook is an equally meaningful reminder of good times you have shared with loved ones.

Spend some time in the kitchen! Baking bread, cookies, pastries, or whipping up some holiday fudge is a great way to make batches of gifts in bulk. Visit your local wholesale store to find flour, sugar, etc. at bargain prices. Since these are things you would normally use anyway, leftover materials won't be wasted.

For children, wood arts and crafts are often the way to go. You can either paint something for the very young, or you can easily purchase a kit to allow them to paint their own ornaments, figurines, and cut-outs.

The holidays are supposed to be a time of love, laughter, and joy. Unfortunately, our culture has placed a great deal of emphasis on "getting stuff." Get your holiday gifting back on track, especially as you try to deal with the conditions of this economy.