Gifts Worth Giving

It can be stressful to get gifts for all our loved ones come the holiday season. Aside from wanting to get people things they will enjoy, in this day and age it has also become increasingly easy to feel like we have too many things we don’t need, or like we are being wasteful. Here are our ideas for gifts worth giving. All our examples rely on the idea that it is more valuable to gift ephemeral experiences or material things that mean something, or make you feel a certain way.

1. Inviting someone to dinner

Whether you like to cook or you share an affinity for authentic Burmese food with the lucky recipient of your gift, a great meal and good conversation goes a much longer way than a trendy blouse that will start to pill by the end of the season. Plan an outing or host them at your place – but either way let them know it’s your treat and that you want to spend some quality time with them. 

2. Making something you like to craft

Do you knit? Mosaic? Paint? Make tapestries or quilts? Something a person can keep in their home that will make them think of you when they see or use it can be so meaningful! The fact that you spent time to create the present is almost as heartwarming as the gift itself.

3. Going to a concert together

We all have that one person with whom we share the same exact taste in music (and if you don’t, you should totally find one). Is your favorite band coming to town? Amazing! Is it in three months? Who cares! Giving someone tickets to go to a concert together not only makes for a great night but it gives your recipient something to look forward to.

4. Go really do something

So maybe music is not your thing, but you’re a thrill-seeker. Plan a day to bring a loved one to an amusement park, to take windsurfing or trapeze classes, to go skydiving, or even to go on a hot air balloon ride! The options are endless and you can certainly cater the outing to be as romantic or physically taxing as you want.

5. A night at a hotel, even if it’s a staycation

Sometimes all someone can ask for is for a nice drink at a quaint hotel nearby. Book a room and spend a weekend getting pampered – you both deserve it. Massages anyone? Facials?

6. A book or a magazine or newspaper subscription

Okay so this one is a bit tricky, because it requires you knowing what kinds of things would not go to waste in their possession. Either way, we all have those friends who love to cook, golf, or  learn about outer space – there are magazines for all of those! Or maybe it is just a friend who can’t stop talking about how annoying it is to only get ten free articles a month on the New York Times online. Get them a subscription! 

7. A donation in their name

What’s a cause you care about? A cause they care about? Donate in their name! It is so important to take a step back and recognize how easy it is to get caught up in material things, especially during the holidays. We can appreciate how lucky we are, how much we have, and how much we have left to give, too.

8. A fragrance

Whether you know the kinds of scents they like to wear, or you want to get them something new, a fragrance is a thoughtful and long-lasting gift. Additionally, a home fragrance can be an experience: it enhances one’s mood, ties together the atmosphere and design, and makes coming home the best feeling in the world. Give someone the gift of loving to walk through the door at the end of the day – it’s priceless.