simple, free, joyful idea for most of your xmas gift-giving

[ima_sinnic]

A few years ago I was packing for an extended stay out of the United States right around Christmas-time. The stuff that I wasn't taking with me was going in storage and I also had a big indoor sale. But one of the best things I did was to go around the house and pick out one gift for each family member out of my own things (of course this probably won't work if you have young children on your list). Some of the things I was ready to get rid of anyway. A couple were hard to part with but I knew the recipients would respect, enjoy, and take care of them. Some were very practical: my brother always gave practical gifts and he had been renovating a house for years. I filled a box with all my leftover lightbulbs, duct tape, nails, batteries, a whiskbroom, etc., etc.--all those "hardware" odds 'n' ends--and he loved it. I gave my beatnik nephew my Che Guevara red beret with leather piping from the 1980s and I think he still wears it from time to time. A few people got books. I gave my stepmother some mittens I'd knitted a couple of years earlier--since I was going to a tropical climate. It's been a while and I can't remember what else but this was a success for them as well as me. The fact that I can't really remember what most of the gifts were means I have NOT suffered a huge loss in my life by giving the stuff up.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. good idea

a friend of mine did something similar a few years back. He had done a Vision Quest, and afterwards it is traditional to have a give away to those who supported the Quest. Anyway, instead of the usual candy and flashlights, he gave each person a gift of something that was near and dear to him. He said it was about not being attached to material things. I was very touched by his gift.

[ET Awful]

2. If you DO give away stuff like this as gifts, always explain WHY.

Otherwise, you run the risk of people freaking out on you. Why you may ask? Well, in suicide prevention training, they teach that one of the classic signs of someone preparing to commit suicide is giving away their personal things.

So, always explain yourself when doing so, or run the risk of really freaking someone out :)

[PragMantisT]

3. Sounds like a Potlatch

You can't do better than something from the heart.