Spending and Saving
Unemployment-Friendly Gifts: For Grandparents
Just because you’ve been laid off doesn’t mean you feel good laying off on giving. The idea of entering my Mom’s house on Christmas Day empty-handed feels worse than charging up my credit card. So we’ve come up with a list of thoughtful, unique and inexpensive gifts for every friend and family member.
Grandparents: Charity Donation
Your grandparents are the last people you should actually buy something for. Why? Because they don’t need anything. (They’ve had 80 or so years to amass a very large pile of stuff.) Instead, I suggest donating $20 or $30 in their name to a charity of your choice and then presenting them with a certificate. They’ll be happy that the money is going to a good cause, and that you can write it off on your tax return. The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, International Children’s Fund, Oxfam and the National Organization For Rare Disorders are all tax-exempt organizations that allow you donate in honor of another person.
1st Day of Gifts: Stationery for Mom
2nd Day of Gifts: Gadgetry for Dad
Lauren Sherman is a Brooklyn, N.Y.-based journalist. She’s been covering the fashion, retail and luxury industries since 2004. She founded The Fashion Beat in Oct. 2009 after working for four years at Forbes.
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7 comments for “Unemployment-Friendly Gifts: For Grandparents”
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I realize that the author of this piece has only good intentions, but I find her ageism rather shocking. Is there some rule I’ve missed on recessionwire whereby readers over 30 or 35 years old are forbidden? The author seems to assume that all readers are young adults and of course no readers ARE grandparents or parents who themselves might be struggling with what gifts to give to their adult children or grandchildren.
Keep reading, we’re getting there!!!
I should think that if this is intended as a gift, it should be a contribution to the charity of the grandparent’s choice!
You know, that’s a great point! If you want to let the person choose, you can give a card with a promise of a gift. OR give a Just Give gift card, which lets them choose from 1.5 million different non-profits. Another one of my favorites is DonorsChoose–you pick the amount, they pick which classroom project to support.
Why is the excellent suggestion of a gift to a charitable organization limited to gifts for grandparents? (See Ms. Sherman’s previous two articles.) Why isn’t this a good suggestion for EVERY gift? Sorry, but these pieces are filled with stereotypes related to gender and age. Just to note one more, all grandparents actually aren’t in their 80s! A good number are in their 40s or 50s.
If one is unemployed, would it not be better to give the gift of time?
This is assuming that finances are tight. Visits and phone calls mean so much to grandparents. Photos and letters telling them how much they have meant to you over the years are always welcomed.
Kelly Stone
Things my 75 year old dad appreciates are photos, consumables (except alchohol – interferes with his meds), home cooking, fixing/upgrading his technology, listening to him, being around when he is temporarily unable to drive himself or take care of routine chores due to medical procedures. So I think it’s a pretty broad brush to say he doesn’t want stuff. Services/help/a sympathetic ear (getting old sucks!) seem to mean more.