holidays
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Lavish Them with Gifts, Lazy-Style
Call me a Grinch, but the holidays are never more daunting than when you’re sitting down to make your shopping list for friends and family. After so many years, you’ve probably cycled through the same items many times over (I know I have!). So here are some ideas and commentary from the folks at Cardpool.com who suggest they’re for “lazy gift-givers.” I sure hope my family isn’t reading this, but I probably fall into that category. Hope you find this as helpful as I did, and if you’ve got additional please add to the list in the comments below. Happy holidays!
1. Cardpool.com
Gift cards. That are up to 30% discounted. What’s not to love? That means you can buy the people on your “nice” list cards for some of the top retailers, restaurants, movie theaters and even airlines without breaking the bank.
2. Whatever of the Month Clubs
For everyone on your list, there’s a gift of the month club – bacon of the month, beer of the month, jam of the month (for the Christmas Vacation fans out there) – get your creative juices flowing. Murray’s in New York even has a meat of the month club delivered nationwide – a gift that keeps giving year round.
Who doesn’t love movies? Purchase a gift certificate for Hulu Premium so your gift recipient can stream the newest shows without all the ads.
You can use your own photos to print out aprons, coasters, mugs, key chains, etc. This is one of those gifts that will make you look like you really gave it the personal touch. Just upload a photo on a site and let it do all the hard work.
Spafinder takes the spa gift certificate to the next level. Let your recipient pick out the spa and the treatment without putting your bank account in the red.
How to Shop in Your Closet for New Year’s Eve
With all the sales taking place and New Year’s just days away, it can be tempting to hit the stores for some new party duds. But face it (as I recently did): You have plenty of clothes. You just overspent on holiday gifts. And even the gainfully employed learned this year about the importance of being frugal. So here’s how to shop in your closet, and some sparkle to your evening without spending:
Repurpose Your Jewels
Works especially well with hand-me-downs from mom and grandma. Hang a big rhinestone pin on some ribbon to make a new necklace.
5 Ways to Make Cheap Gifts Look More Expensive
We all wish we could spend a million dollars on our loved ones. But, this is certainly not the year for it. What we can do is make our budget-friendly gifts look amazing and personalized.
The way to do this is not to spend more money on fancy gift bags and wrapping paper. Considering that each gift bag can easily cost $3 to $4 (or more, if it gets really fancy), and even a large roll of wrapping paper can be $18, it’s not hard to drop more than $50 alone just on wrapping supplies alone during the holiday season.
Don’t be that person. Instead, get creative and save some money.
Since the best gifts show careful consideration for the recipient, here are some of our favorite tricks…
Turn Starting Over into Celebration: Create Your Own Holiday
A few years ago, I became somewhat befuddled about what to do with my life.
Okay, I was completely befuddled.
The cause was (as I put it) losing my job—being displaced, severanced and bridged to an early retirement. My 15-year-old daughter put it this way: fired, broke, preparing to sell the house. Don’t you hate it when your kids get it right?
Anyway, I did what anyone else would have done in my situation: I created a new holiday.
On my calendar, Arrival Day falls on any day in the week before Thanksgiving—though you can slot it anywhere during the year. On this day, the celebrant takes a round-trip on the Staten Island Ferry, across New York Harbor going out, and more importantly, coming back. Coming back past Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, you imagine yourself as a new immigrant, with all of your belongings in a bag and your life savings—maybe $50 or $1,000—in your pocket…
Recession Briefing 12.23: In Bank Closings, FDIC Gets Booty
What you need to know today to survive and thrive in the recession.
The recession pushed U.S. bank failures in 2009 to a 17-year high. As a result, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to close came into possession of some interesting booty, including a rapper’s tour bus that reeked of marijuana, a red 2001 Ferrari, an eight-foot palm tree and stacks of unwanted office furniture. (Bloomberg)
In these final shopping days, many parents are reconciling their practical concerns with a deep desire to see delight in their children’s faces on Christmas morning. Spending on gifts is down, but that does not always mean children will feel the difference. (Washington Post)
In states hit hard by the housing crisis, stripping fixtures and appliances from homes in foreclosure has become commonplace. Often, the stripping is not done by strangers. It is done by the owner, just before the bank forecloses on the mortgage and takes the property back. (New York Times)…
Unemployment-Friendly Gifts: Significant Other
Just because you’ve been laid off doesn’t mean you feel good laying off on giving. We’ve come up with a list of thoughtful, unique and inexpensive holiday gifts for every friend and family member.
Significant Other: $25 Experience
It’s more than likely your partner has interests, right? Maybe it’s cooking, maybe it’s fashion. (Maybe it’s something weirder that you really don’t feel like sharing with others.) Anyways, if your boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/wife is curious about anything, consider booking two tickets to the next panel discussion, cooking class or lecture that focuses on their passion. While cooking courses can get expensive, events at a local winery, kitchen store or community center often don’t break the $30 mark…
Skipping Christmas Showed Me the Holiday Spirit
I am a Christmas nut, a secret Santa, a baker, an opulent tree decorator, keeper of the flame from three generations of Italian daughters. So it surprised the Dickens out of my family when I announced in 2008: “I NEED to skip Christmas!”
So that I am not labeled the Grinch, realize that my kids were 20 and 24. They were, I believe, secretly overjoyed to go skiing and shuffle off to visit a roommate in Mexico City. But I had embraced Christmas so hard, for so long, that every member of the family questioned me vigorously: Did I really mean this? Would I be OK with just dad and the cats? Really–no tree, no nutcrackers, no greens, no wreath? …
Unemployment-Friendly Gifts: Your Favorite Kid
Just because you’ve been laid off doesn’t mean you feel good laying off on giving. We’ve come up with a list of thoughtful, unique and inexpensive gifts for every friend and family member.
Your Favorite Kid: Balloon Power Boat
If you love fun design, you’ll love Kid O, an e-commerce site that carries high-design toys…
Talking Money with Family at the Holidays
Whether this is your first holiday as an independent adult or the cord has long been cut, it’s only natural for parents to nag about finances when everyone’s together. Expect it. No matter your age, you’re still a child to them. But, your goal should be to show them that you’re not the same crazy kid who once blew a semester’s worth of babysitting money on trucker hats (and worse, considered it a fashion “investment”).
We’re talking about showing them financial maturity, which is comprised of three things:
- Awareness (having a plan and knowing where your money goes)
- Boundaries (sticking to your plan even under pressure)
- Responsibility (not sacrificing the future for the impulse of the moment)
Within that framework, here are six holiday dos and don’ts to help you be financially mature and demonstrate your status as a blooming money maven:…
Unemployment-Friendly Gifts: Your Best Girl Friend
Just because you’ve been laid off doesn’t mean you feel good laying off on giving. We’ve come up with a list of thoughtful, unique and inexpensive gifts for every friend and family member.
Best Friend (Or Sister, Daughter, Or Niece!): Lipstick Queen Fired Up Gloss
This gorgeous, fire-engine-red lip gloss will look good regardless of her complexion…
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