Gift Guide for Thoughtful and FREE Gifts

My inbox seems to be FULL of Gift Guides.  I used to really enjoy them, but to be honest, now they are driving me bananas.  So many of them feel so commercial and disingenuous. I really don’t mean to sound like a grinch, but you all know by now that I’m not one to shy away from saying what I think.  I’m also not one to kvetch without a solution.  So, it occurred to me that there are tons of free (or nearly free) gifts that we can give one another that can lift the mind, body and spirit way more than something purchased at a store.  Here are some of my faves:

1. Create a personal website for someone, complete with photo montage, if you’re good at web stuff.
2. Create a picnic for the two of you, or for the whole family or group of friends.
3. Plan a day trip into nature.
4. Create a scrapbook.
5. Find a board game at Goodwill and customize it for the person’s personality.
6. If you have an expertise, give them the gift of coaching: be their personal trainer, French tutor, piano teacher, if that’s what they’ve been wanting to do, and that’s in your expertise.
7. Pass along your absolute favorite books
8. Walk their dog
9. Clean their house or wash their car.
10. Bake brownies or a berry pie.
11. Take a class together (community classes are often free or super inexpensive).
12. Pass on your digital camera if you aren’t using it and they would.
13. Gift certificate for mowing their lawn.
14. Make an illustrated book about how awesome the person is.
15. Create a video from family/friends with everyone sharing what they love about the person.