Publication Date: Friday, December 10, 2004
Who needs more stuff?
Who needs more stuff?
(December 10, 2004) Give your time and creativity this holiday season
by Kit Davey
Bah, humbug. I don't like the commercialism of this season. I hate holiday shopping. I hate wondering if last year's gifts are gathering dust on closet shelves. And I'm a tightwad.
Thank goodness the best gifts don't have to cost a bundle nor do they have to be a "thing." The presents I have most enjoyed giving, and the ones I know have truly been appreciated are gifts of my time or creativity.
Giving the gift of time doesn't cost you a cent and uses your talents to help others (plus you don't have to wrap anything). Here are some ideas:
** Have a friend with an overflowing garage or jammed closets? Provide 10 hours of muscle to help organize these spaces.
** If you are computer-comfortable and have a friend who has computer-aversion, why not provide several hours of tutoring?
** Do you have a pick-up truck, a chain saw or special tool you can lend to a friend who doesn't have one? Make a coupon offering one day's use of your roto-tiller, helper included.
** Do you have grandchildren or know neighborhood kids who enjoy being read to? Make a coupon redeemable for reading services. If the child does not have a library card, volunteer to take him/her to obtain one.
** Do you have a hobby you can share or teach? Photographers can take a posed, professional-looking family photo, bird watchers can take novices on outings, and sailors can invite landlubbers for a bay cruise.
** Give several hours of sewing to help mend and hem some clothes, or recover an old ????.
** Do you have a professional skill you can share? If you're a bookkeeper, give your help to set up Quicken, or to fill out tax forms for a family member. If you're a writer, volunteer to write or edit something.
** Collect, type up and assemble your favorite recipes in a customized cookbook. Invite your friends or family over for dinner and present them with the cookbook during dessert.
Recycle rather than consume
Help save our environment and your pocketbook by recycling what you already have into creative gifts:
** Start baby plants from cuttings or seeds, decorate spare pots and give along with care instructions.
** Give a beribboned stack of last year's magazines to a friend who does not have a subscription.
** Deliver a bouquet-a-month from your garden to your neighbor's doorstep.
** Decorate old spice jars and put dried herbs from your garden in them.
** Use a photo album you already own and assemble photos and memorabilia for a friend.
** Give lemons from your yard in a recycled basket.
** Most of us have bookcases full of books we'll never read again and CDs or tapes we've grown tired of. Why not share them?
** Make a collage, painting or drawing and place it in an unused frame you have stashed away in a closet or drawer.
** My mother notices when I admire something in her home and over the years has given me cherished heirlooms and works of art on Christmas morning. (It makes me cry when she does this!). Is there something your friend has admired in your home that you would enjoy giving as a gift?
Give a gift that helps the world
** Is there a cause you or a family member would like to support? Give a donation in his/her name, remembering to send a card commemorating the gift.
** Pay for membership in a charitable, preservationist or environmental group, such as the Sierra Club, San Jose Historical Museum or Filoli Center.
** Take your giftee to a home or garden tour that supports a worthy cause.
** Give tickets for two to a fundraising dinner.
Kit Davey, Allied Member, ASID, is a Redwood City-based interior designer who redecorates by using only what you already own. E-mail her at KitDavey@aol.com, call her at (650) 367-7370; visit her Web site at AFreshLook.net.
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