Holiday Gifts for the Person Who Has Everything
Sometimes, it takes a bit of creativity to make a holiday gift for a special person something they’ll always remember.
My dad likes to fish. Everyone knows he likes to fish, which is why he has everything a fisherman could want. So what do you buy for someone like that?
Answer: Something totally unexpected.
L.L. Bean has long been recognized as the purveyor of quality clothing and outerwear. But because it may be tricky to buy clothing for Aunt Betty—whom you haven’t seen in years—I suggest you check out their accessories which include the durable Adventure Duffle bags, the Healthy Back bags, and personal organizers, most of which can be monogrammed or personalized.
The Signals catalog never fails to deliver on unusual gift ideas. At first glance, it appears that most offerings are intended for the pious: crosses and trees of life adorn much of the inventory. Dig deeper, however, and you will find clever gifts for almost anyone on your list, including a camo tee printed with four stars and the title “General Mayhem” for the two-year-old nephew, or a silver cuff bracelet engraved with the words “cleverly disguised as a responsible adult” for the child-at-heart. Choose between totally functional gifts like the full-sized silicon roll-up keyboard for $16.95 or the delicately decorative handblown glass EcoSphere that houses a closed ecosystem (earth, water, air, and life) sustained soley by indirect sunlight, for $59.00.
A Gift of Charity
With the financial demands of the holiday season, it’s often difficult to find the extra cash to donate to your favorite charity. Which is why the Person Who Has Everything might appreciate a donation made on their behalf.
Heifer International is a charitable organization that supplies needy people in developing countries with animals and trees in order to promote self-reliance and sustainability. Heifer provides the animal or birds to a needy person or family and trains them how to raise and care for the animals. Their easily navigated site allows you to choose what gift you would like to donate from a picture menu on the Heifer International Online Gift Catalog . Selections include a flock of chicks, honeybees, a goat, a pig, and, yes, a heifer.
If the person you are buying for is offended by the notion that some of these animals may end up on a plate, you may want to choose the honey bees, or a gift of trees, with the understanding that these gifts are symbolic as Heifer reserves the right to use the donation amount where it is most needed. Gifts start at $10.00 for a share of tree seedlings to $500 for a heifer. Heifer allows you to choose between animated or personalized email gift cards or printable gift cards to send your recipient as notice of the gift made in their honor.
A Gift of Time
Last Christmas, I gave my husband an iPod on which I had pre-loaded 50 of his favorite songs. Close to a year later he has yet to to convert his CDs into MP3 files so that he can load more songs. I don’t blame him; it’s time-consuming. Which is why I’m considering a gift of a CD ripping service like Awaken to do the CD to MP3 conversions for him.
How does it work? Simply choose the CDs you want to convert, go to their site and use the online order form to select the format and options you want. Upon receipt of your order, Awaken will send you all of the necessary packing and shipping materials so you can safely Fed-Ex your fully-insured CDs and track your shipments.
Within days Awaken will ship your new MP3 collection saved on DVDs, along with your original CDs. If you do not have access to the CDs, then simply order a gift certificate. Currently it costs $135 for Basic service and $159 for Signiture service to convert 100 CDs, including shipping.
There are a number of ways you can give the gift of time. Do you knit? Send a card with yarn samples and offer to knit a sweater or wrap. Do you cook? Put one of your famous recipes in a basket containing the ingredients needed to prepare it.
Trust me, the People Who Have Everything on your list don’t have it all.
Copyright . Published 1 December 2006 in The Zone.
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