Some people are hard to buy for. Some people buy for themselves whatever they need. Some people have tastes that exceed your budget. Some people are environmentally conscious or prefer not to receive gifts for many given reasons. Some people hate clutter or find the whole gift giving thing a big commercialised rort. Some people don’t like to receive because they cannot afford to reciprocate. So this post is to give a few suggestions for what to give if you are low on funds, or if they don’t like gifts or you just don’t really know what to give them but want to acknowledge the occasion and your friendship.
Donations to Charity
Even if the person in question hates this idea, they are unlikely to say so! But it works better if you consider a charity that is close to your friends heart or has impacted them in some way and make a donation in their name or with reference to them. Someone might like you to buy or name a star, with the funds going to research to space, or someone else may appreciate a donation to the breast cancer foundation if they lost someone or know someone suffering from the condition.
Entries into competitions.
Many magazines and shopping centres do promotional prizes at this time of year. Nominate them as a best friend, buy a raffle ticket in their name, buy a lotto ticket or scratchy, or do all of the above. Tell them that is your plan and to accept any winnings from anything even if they don’t recall entering!
Vouchers for experiences or services.
These can be store gift cards, a voucher for a massage or pedicure, or a car detailing. But they don’t have to be commercial. You can make up your own free vouchers for them to use. You could do monthly coupons and what you put in them is up to you! A coffee date one month, you washing their car another, you buying them an ice-cream or treating them to a movie. A dinner at your house or fresh baked cake or cookies by you. It doesn’t have to be extravagant or expensive, but it serves as a way to catch up all year round and lets them know you took extra care creating this personalised set up.
The photo slideshow video.
This one takes preparation in advance. All year, commit to taking photos of your friend. Some with you, some with their family or pets, some silly, some serious. If you are long term friends you may have enough of these to start, but if you want to do this every year, you need consistent new material. Research a song that suits your friendship or a Christmas song or even a Christmas Friendship song. Compile all the photos you like of your friend and you or their people and make it into a slide show to pop into their inbox on Christmas eve or Christmas morning to send them love and cheer. You can personalise it with captions, or send a nice message along with it. Your friend is sure to love it and play it with whomever sits around their table this year. There are plenty of easy apps that can do this for you from your phone, or you could even go old school and just make a collage! Either with printed pictures or digitally.
Memberships and subscriptions
If you don’t know what your friend wants for Christmas but you know they love cheese or barbequing, then there are clubs and subscriptions you can join them up for where they get a different cheese or spice delivered each month to try. There are beauty ones and health ones and pet ones. Whatever they like, you can probably find a subscription club. Or there are literal magazines. Or maybe they have a gym membership you could pay for a year, a car registration or a theatre club that would get them cheap tickets to their local cinema or theatre. A pay TV subscription, or Christmas hamper thing. There are limitless options here. And most people love the idea but wouldn’t buy it for themselves. Maybe your parents would like Netflix but don’t know how to set it up or are funny about automatic online billing or just don’t want to pay for TV?
Letter of Love
Sometimes there is simply nothing better than receiving a heartfelt card or letter, expressing exactly how you feel, gratitude, shared memories, apologies, laughter and tears. When it comes down to it, we all want to feel appreciated and valued and loved. Many people feel a bit down at this time of year, and just to know they are thought of and regarded warmly, remembered, is all it takes to put some joy and warmth back into their heart. It doesn’t have to be long, but it has to have meaning. If you miss them say so, but follow through on seeing them or keeping in touch more. If you don’t ever see or speak to them then send this sentiment as though you are best friends, it may fall on deaf ears or seem ingenuine. So make it real and make it matter.
Whatever you choose to do this year for your friends, make sure you are thinking of them and their interests not things you would like for yourself. And if you are an on-gifter be very careful the things you gifted are sealed and complete, do not have notes on them from the person who gifted to you and did not come from the same person you are on-gifting it to! Please also try and make sure it is something they like or want, otherwise it is best donated to charity.
If you have other ideas to add to the list, I’d love to hear them in the comments section below!
❤ Love,
Your Best Friend ForNever
xx
