40 Simple Gift Ideas to Spark a Smile

67 Comments

I have a confession to make… I still have not started my Christmas shopping. Having said that, I’m guessing that many of your out there are just like me, waiting for the last week before Christmas. :) As a gentle reminder to myself, I’ve compiled a list of gift ideas for the holiday season. These ideas are not limited to just Christmas, but for all occasions. I hope you may benefit from this list as well.

The list is broken down into several categories:

Unique Gifts
Gifts that Touch the Soul
Books that Change Lives
Alternative Wrapping Ideas

Enjoy!

Unique Gifts:

1. Seed Gift Wrap that Blossoms - Okay, this is really cool. Imagine a wrapping paper that you will plant instead of throwing away. These are biodegradable paper embedded with wildflower seeds. Once you’re done using the paper, just plant and water for beautiful blossoms. There’s no waste.

2. Nepalese Recycled Silk Sari Yarn - Vibrantly colored and unique yarn guaranteed to be a unique gift. Purchase helps provide an income to otherwise disadvantaged women while simultaneously using otherwise-discarded fabric waste.

3. USB Heating Blanket - Is your boss too cheap to pay for a little heat in the office? Show your boss a little respect by buying an electric blanket that plugs into your computer. :) In all seriousness, if your computer is next to a drafty window or a cold area, this seems handy to throw over your legs or use the button clasp to make a cloak for your shoulders.

4. Solar Powered Night Light - I love these eco friendly items. They recharge during the day by soaking energy from natural lights and you can use them at night time as a cool atmospheric room light.

5. Tibetan Singing Bowls - Singing bowl gives clear, beautiful sound, perfect for beginning and ending meditation periods. Here’s a blue design with pretty packaging. I personally own this one.

6. Recycled Paper Coasters - Beautifully made unique coasters reuse earth’s resource.

7. Portable Solar Charger - Great for traveling. Charge your phone, ipod and other electronics.

8. Bamboo Cotton Bath Robes - I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t enjoy a nice light-weight, soft-feel bath robe.

9. Solar LED House Numbers - I think these are just plain cool. Attractive house numbers which are solar powered. I love the modern look of these designs. Also very practical for the home.

10. MiniCards - Moo makes these really cool and attractive name cards. Get a box for your gift receiver. Be creative with the images you choose for them, or use existing designs. Moo also offers gift certificates. These are especially great if you have a teenager or twenty-something on your gift list. They’ll think you’re cool. And be proud to give these out to their friends.

11. Neck & Shoulder Relaxation Tool - I am sitting most of the times for my job, and my neck and shoulders can easily become tense after several hours. Here’s a nice little tool to help us relax. You can see a more attractive picture of the product here.

12. Handmade Paper Journal with Cinnamon stick closure - this also helps to support local artists from disadvantaged countries.

13. Avocado Scooper - This made me laugh out loud. It’s very clever and unique.

14. Compact Portable Speakers - Great for when you’re traveling. For under $5 you can’t go wrong. I own these and love them. They work with portable devices like the ipod, cd players, laptops.

15. Multi-Language Talking Translator - Ideal for international travelers, the Talking Translator will help you learn the pronunciation of foreign words. Search among 12 different languages.

Gifts that Touch the Soul:

16. Homemade Gift Basket - What do they like? Put some of their favorite things together, or put together a group of small things that you think your friend will like. I’ve made this for a friend once, I included things like: chocolates, a mug, a shirt, homemade CDs, books, etc. You can get a straw basket from IKEA, home decorative stores or from your local Chinatown. Get some party stuffers for the bottom of the basket. Or stuff it with newspapers and cover the top with colored tissue paper. Wrap the entire basket with clear wrapping and close the top with a colored ribbon. Your gift receiver will love this personalized gift.

17. Love Coupons - Make a little coupon book containing favors you would do for the receiver. It doesn’t have to be fancy, you can print them out from a word processor, cut it in rectangles of the same size and staple them together. Or if you want to go all out, get nice paper and a nice ink pen, write in each page of your coupon book. I’ll let you be creative with what you’ll put in the coupons. Here are some ideas: airport pickup, make dinners (can be specific with meals), massages, take dog for walks, babysitting, pamper day, etc. Put the coupon in a little box or gift bag. Recycled jewelry boxes are great for these.

19. Maid Service - Buy your friend or family a one-time maid service to clean up their place. Especially if your friend really needs the help. Alternatively, you can offer to help as a gift to them. You can find maid services from Craigslist and your local photo books.

20. Meditation Gift Basket - make your own basket containing incense, guided meditation CD or DVD (or both), meditative music, candles.

21. Photo box - a photo box containing photos of memories you’ve shared together. If you’ve shared specific memories with this person and have artifacts from that memory, it’s a nice touch to personalize the gift by putting these in the box. ie. If the box contains memories from a trip, maybe ticket stubs from that trip or small jewelries found on the trip. Here’s a hand-made photo box from Bangladesh for under $4.

22. Salsa lessons - Typical group lessons are about $10 and individual lessons are $60 for a couple. I recommend a group lesson. Dancing is a fun way to connect with another person.

23. Yoga classes - get a gift certificate at the local yoga center, or check out YMCA, you can get day passes for people for $10.

24. Photo Frame - get a nice looking photo frame and put a meaningful picture in the frame. Of you and the receiver, a group of you, you alone, etc. For example, my mother cannot get enough pictures of me. I think I’ll understand it once I become a mother. :)

25. Massage - People love deep tissue massages. Consider getting them a one-time session to a local massage therapist. It’ll be a treat that they’ll be sure to appreciate. If you are concerned about cost, many cities have massage schools where their clinics offer sessions for half of market cost. Or offer to do the massage yourself.

26. Cordless Skype Phones - use the low prices skype service without a computer. These phones will also allow you to connect and make local calls if you have a land line. I own the Philips VOIP841 and absolutely love it. It feels as authentic as a landline, and we bring this little guy with us when we travel to other countries for extended periods of times so friends and family can be in touch.

27. Flickr Pro Account - does your receiver take lots of photos? Get them the popular flickr pro account for large online storage and photo sharing for $24 a year.

28. Moleskin Lined Notebooks - I love these for writing ideas and journals. You might also like the 2008 weekly planners (also in small size).

29. Aerobic Heart Rate Monitor - I got this for jogging so I could keep my heart at its maximum heart rate level when I’m exercising. Part of aerobic exercise routine (which differs from anaerobic exercises).

30. Personal Timer - Great little tool to increase productivity effectiveness by giving tasks a limited amount of time to work on them. I love this little timer.

31. Digital Photo Frame

32. Charitable Donations - Kiva offers gift certificates. Support loans that change lives. Or sponsor a small child inside Tibet for food and education.

Books that Change Lives:

33. The Power Of Now - This book shifted my thinking and changed my life. Highest recommendation. I personally guaranteed this book.

34. The Magic of Thinking Big - Excellent book suited for anyone on your list.

35. The 4-Hour Workweek - I’m recommending this not just because I have a secret crush on Tim Ferriss. This is truly a phenomenal book that will give you alternative ways to look at work and designing your life.

36. Guaranteed Solutions - Spiritual growth and understanding of our emotions.

37. Think and Grow Rich - Written in 1937, after 25 years of research on hundreds of successful people, he boiled down the core principles and shares them in this value-dense book.

Alternative Wrapping Ideas:

Banana Fiber Paper - Unique wrapping paper made from chunks of banana bark.
Waxed Hemp Twine - Instead of buying plastic ribbons for your wrappings, consider Hemp Twines. They give off that organic look, plus, it’s environmentally friendly. Comes in multiple colors.
Alternative Wrappings - try reusing magazines as an alternative to wrapping paper. This is a creative and environmentally friendly alternative.

Got a unique and thoughtful gift idea? We’d love to hear them. Please share with us in the comments.

Note added on 12/05/07: additional suggestions from readers which I loved:

GlobalGiving - offers biodegradable gift cards from the marketplace for online charitable giving. Support projects that change peoples’ lives – like education for a Zimbabwean orphan, pedal-powered electricity for a Nepalese village, or fuel-efficient stoves for Sudanese refugees. Way cool!
Reserve a spot in heaven - I laughed at this one. Yes, it’s a joke gift, silly but will make people smile. :) see washington post article.

If you enjoyed this article, please share it on StumbleUpon, vote for it on Digg or bookmark it on del.icio.us. I appreciate your support. :)

67 Responses (52 Comments, 15 Trackbacks ):

Comments

Shirley

Dec 03 07, 5:43 am PST

1
Great ideas Tina! I especially like the creativity of the wildflower wrapping paper -two gifts in one. I admit I haven’t begun shopping either. I actually like waiting until I December, then tell everyone “Don’t buy anything for yourself this month, I need to shop.”

Plus waiting longer means there are lots of sales. I also love shopping at flea markets, thrift stores, consignment shops and such. You can find hand-made soaps and scarves, a vintage Snoopy snow-cone maker, or a colorful lamp that’s one-of-a-kind. The search is the best part!
Personal Development for the Book Smart

Dec 03 07, 6:47 am PST

2
Think and Grow Rich is indeed a book that can change lives. =)
Gina M.

Dec 03 07, 7:33 am PST

3
I am with you on the wild flower wrapping paper. What a unique idea! I also like the maid service idea. Who doesn’t need help around the house this time of year??
Todd

Dec 03 07, 7:46 am PST

4
Wow and Wow! GREAT work Tina…I think the keys to ALL my holiday shopping are right here. Keep up the great work with the blog….I am a BIG fan!!

Todd
Founder, We The Change
holli jo

Dec 03 07, 10:11 am PST

5
Wonderful gift ideas, Tina! I especially like the coupons in a box idea. Great list. Thanks for sharing!
John Rocheleau

Dec 03 07, 1:19 pm PST

6
My wife and I start early and really take our time to select gifts. It eliminates the feeling of time pressure and allows us to focus on the giving. I’m not a shopper, but I really enjoy Christmas shopping because of this.

Another bonus of beginning early is that you can spread the expense out a bit. The good feeling of giving does not mix well with the guilt of debt. We use credit cards for cash flow or bonus points, but never for buying what we can’t afford to pay for within 30 days. Christmas shopping–and life–is much more fun without debt.

Thanks for the recommendation on the “The Power Of Now” book by the way. I ordered two copies; one for my Son, and one of my Nephew (they better not read this). It seems like a good intro into those most valuable concepts. And with that ordered, we are now done our Christmas shopping :-)

John
Leo

Dec 03 07, 3:18 pm PST

7
Lovely post, Tina. What an excellent resource!
Raymond

Dec 03 07, 4:10 pm PST

8
Hi Tina,

What a coincidence! I just wrote about Christmas shopping ideas yesterday and the post will be published on this coming Thursday. :) (but not as detail as yours) I did not include the description. :P

Thanks for sharing these nice ideas, It’s very handy.
Tom

Dec 03 07, 4:39 pm PST

9
For people that are really hard to buy for, I encourage them to create a wishlist. There’s this one really cool site for that… ;)
ZHereford

Dec 03 07, 5:19 pm PST

10
What a wonderful collection of gift ideas!

Totally original and creative.
David
Dec 03 07, 6:24 pm PST

11
Good list from which to start. But I’ve been pushing at our house to not be mindless consumers. Could I challenge you to create a list of non commercial gift ideas?
Tina Su

Dec 03 07, 7:53 pm PST

12
Hi David,

Great challenge. :) From the list, there are several non-commercial gifts that are my favorites: 16. Homemade Gift Basket, 17. Love Coupons, 21. Photo box, 32. Kiva.

Other ideas are:
+ bake something or make a delicious dish and bring it to someone. I like to make and give away Tiramisu.
+ volunteer your time to help the receiver with something. ie. tutoring, mentoring of something you excel at, make a website (I’ve given this as gifts to friends and family several times and people go crazy for it).
+ a flower
+ a complement
+ a smile (I know this might sound cheesy, but it is a gift)

I’m a big fan of giving away books. I know it’s commercial, but the value contained in them are beyond the price paid, and the potential effect they can have on the receiver is priceless.

If I knew how to knit and had time, I would knit everyone scarfs in addition to getting them books. :) I’m a photographer, so sometimes I would offer free photoshoots for friends.

Since you have been pushing at your house to not be mindless consumers… I would love to hear your suggestions for non-commercial gifts. Care to share? :)

Thanks David!
Max Norman

Dec 03 07, 8:59 pm PST

13
I really liked this post! I think that the plant-able wrapping paper is a wonderful idea, especially for my for eco-oriented friends!
Peter

Dec 03 07, 10:07 pm PST

14
These are great suggestions - very original and unique. Thanks Tina!
Jimbo

Dec 03 07, 10:17 pm PST

15
Cool ideas! I really like that seed gift wrap. We did the photo gift last year. Who wouldn’t want a picture of me and my wife?! Thanks!
Sierra

Dec 04 07, 6:27 am PST

16
I would like to have those Tibetan Singing Bowls :P
Sierra

Dec 04 07, 6:29 am PST

17
But what about a MoPod?
Brian

Dec 04 07, 8:44 am PST

18
Another great Idea for any golfer out there would be No Water Balls. The make any golfer smile.
Spanish Lessons

Dec 04 07, 8:48 am PST

19
What about Spanish lessons. Language lessons would make a gift that would be intellectual.
1st time commenter
Dec 04 07, 8:55 am PST

20
I just don’t like these ideas. I’ve enjoyed reading through them and the explanations, but I don’t like them. Keep up the good work.
BUSINESS

Dec 04 07, 9:04 am PST

21
Thank you so much. Bookmarked and dugg. I’ve been stressing for ideas. The seed gift wrap is going to seem like I put a lot of thought into the gift (smile).
Greg

Dec 04 07, 9:36 am PST

22
If you want to make a homemade card too, I just made this greeting card generator. It lets you choose a picture for the front and what the text will say and outputs a PDF card that you can print and fold. I figure it will be pretty handy for the holidays.
Diana 'Money Maker' Maine

Dec 04 07, 9:41 am PST

23
These ideas will make great stocking stuffers. I especially like the seed gift idea. Cheap, and can bloom into something beautiful!

Great article!

Diana
eli skipp

Dec 04 07, 10:40 am PST

24
the idea to get a flickr pro account is BRILLIANT!

i’m going to be giving similar gifts to a lot of people this year (i buy unique gifts for the people closest to me and easy gifts for people i care about but who are more of… aquaintances). my idea is to buy a number of mason jars (they’re pretty cheap from grocery stores) and fill them with homemade candy and treats or anything else small and cute (like wee toys or pocket books or colored pencils or summat), and then decorating the lid with fabrics and twine and handmade paper tie-on cards. one thing i’m really looking forward to doing is making chocolate dipped fortune cookies!
Self Defense Class

Dec 04 07, 10:53 am PST

25
Maybe you could add Self Defense Class to your list. I really like #1 and 3. My wife could use the USB blanket.
Terri Holley

Dec 04 07, 3:02 pm PST

26
This is a thoroughly researched and well thought out list of great gifts. Thank you, Tina, for creating a great resource for those of us who desire to give and receive consciously.
Betty Tanner
Dec 04 07, 3:24 pm PST

27
Amazingly wonderful gift ideas! I’ve been sticking with a more traditional route. For instance, I just recieved a copy of the Limited Edition Christmas Classics DVD set, which includes movies like “Little Drummer Boy”,”Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”, “Frosty the Snowman”, and “Santa Clause is Coming to Town” and 3 others.It came with a hoilday cd as well. I work with them, so I consider it to be my early christmas present. I soon realized that this was the perfect gift for families. It will inspire the family to spend time together watching the best of the holiday movies. So I decided that a simple token of togetherness was what I would be handing out to my relatives and friends this year. You can get the set anywhere they sell DVDs or at http://www.christmasclassics.tv. Family and togetherness is what the holidays are meant to remind us of, love is the most important thing in the world!
Vlad

Dec 04 07, 5:09 pm PST

28
Fantastic little list - thanks a lot
gale

Dec 04 07, 11:33 pm PST

29
wow, what an amazingly comprehensive list of UNIQUE gift ideas! i think the seed-gift-wrap is amazing. another great post tina :) and thank you for the advice on the flamers. they’re actually really funny lol
Adriana
Dec 05 07, 11:59 am PST

30
You will never know how much this entry saved me from burning a hole in my wallet! Thank you so very much!
MEL

Dec 05 07, 11:59 am PST

31
Great list — in addition to our friends at Kiva, I’ll also throw out the idea of DonorsChoose.org where you can pick a classroom project to fund in a public school. You can also give a gift certificate — you make the donation, and the recipient gets to pick the classroom project.
Austin

Dec 05 07, 6:13 pm PST

32
Thanks for the great post, just in time for Christmas. :)
nadia
Dec 06 07, 8:10 am PST

33
très jolie
Linda

Dec 06 07, 8:39 pm PST

34
Hi,

I just love these gift suggestions — thanks!

I have one I want to share that I’ll call “Book that Touches the Soul” ;-)
It’s “Together: Creating Family Traditions,” by Rondi Hillstrom Davis and Janell Sewall Oakes. In it you will find ways to create the most precious gift of all — family time together! This book has so many ideas — great activities, delicious recipes, ways to create precious memories (and hopefully traditions) with our children! Anyone who enjoys meaningful time with family will love this book — it’s a treasure.

Happy Holidays!

Cheers,
Linda
fran

Dec 06 07, 8:43 pm PST

35
I don’t have that much money this year, plus I never know what to get to my mom and dad, so this year I decided to make homemade gifts to them. To my mom a wearable pincushion (wrist), to my dad truffles (cause he loves chocolate and anytime I get something like a CD he listens to it once…). I’ll craft some pretty envelopes for them :)
But I’m gonna spend money on my bf. I’ll get him a suscription to Scientific American (we live in Chile and that magazine is not sold here cause is too expensive!). He is a med student and loves science and technology, plus he has been looking for it for a looong time, is perfect!
I love making homemade gifts :D
Tina from Life-Balanced.net

Dec 07 07, 8:23 am PST

36
Thanks for this well thought out list of great gift ideas. I did a post on gifts for fitness lovers, but this is much more personal and meaningful. Happy holidays!
flipthebucket

Dec 08 07, 12:51 am PST

37
I love your blog design. Very simple and friendly. I wrote a similar post today listing 5 Atypical Christmas Gifts. I enjoyed the alternative gift wrapping ideas. Thanks for the suggestions.
Eugene
Dec 08 07, 10:17 pm PST

38
Nice list, but you have left off the best gift EVER! This company online sells reserved spots into Heaven and guarantees entry with a 100% money back guarantee. Their travel kits look pretty cool and it would be a funny gag gift.

Their website is -
www.reserveaspotinheaven.com
Handmade Christmas Cards

Dec 10 07, 4:06 pm PST

39
These are lovely, and sometimes very practical gift ideas - I’m particularly fond of the unique wrapping papers. I make handmade cards that I think show people I care for them. If you like the idea, you can get ideas at my handmade cards website. Like the wrapping paper that grows flowers, a nice handmade christmas card may last a long time as a result of being framed and put on the wall.
Modern Worker

Dec 13 07, 7:26 am PST

40
I’m finishing up my shopping today, so this’ll come in handy ;-)
Isabel

Dec 13 07, 5:02 pm PST

41
I love the idea of a Solar Powered Night Light. Going to come back and read the entire article.

——————————-
My Diet & Health Blog, http://www.merely-flawed.com
Gauri

Jan 14 08, 3:02 am PST

42
Thanks so much for this post, I especially love the plantable wrapping paper and I’ll definitely be looking into getting some!
elroy
Feb 01 08, 10:20 pm PST

43
it is so true that something simple can bring so much joy. i really like the list about unique handmade gifts
Yasmine Taylin
Feb 26 08, 11:34 pm PST

44
Wonderful ideas. You mentioned the recycled paper coasters , I actually purchased recycled paper trivets from www.arenaturals.com. When my brother received them he appreciated the fact that I was respecting his choices in greening his life, which has become a personal project of his for the last year. I also decided to handmake all of my cards with scrap papers from old magazines by cutting out words like “love” “appreciation” etc and pasting them to recycled paper cardstock to decorated the cards, to help me say the words I want to say. Thanks for sharing all of your ideas - they are great.
i love seo

Mar 30 08, 12:11 am PDT

45
Just subscribed to your blog which I found via digg - incredibly inspirational… totally going to use some of these ideas to score some brownie points with my girl - the magic of thinking big is a great read I agree.
Tiffany

Aug 04 08, 7:11 am PDT

46
i like Portable Solar Charger - Great for traveling. Charge your phone, ipod and other electronics.
thanks
howard

Aug 11 08, 7:17 pm PDT

47
All of them are lovely, and sometimes very practical gift ideas for girls. But you know that we always have a tight budget. To meet this requirement, why not try www.sterlingtiffany.com. In this website, you can not only find the classic tiffany jewelry, but also some creative tiffany silver jewelry. However, all of them are in affordable price.
Albert

Sep 02 08, 12:30 am PDT

48
Very good web site, great work and thank you for your service.”
Pat

Sep 04 08, 7:40 pm PDT

49
I loved the gift paper that has seeds you plant embedded so it gets reused. I just saw another cool idea with greeting cards same idea- you just plant the whole thing! Pretty neat.
K Gift

Oct 11 08, 3:36 pm PDT

50
Wow, what a list and just in time for Christmas. This is the time when we got to buy lots and lots of presents. I will be making use of many of them I am sure, thanks Kweezel.
Corrie Woods

Oct 14 08, 6:31 am PDT

51
Fabulous list! and other great articles.
I’d love to add a gift book recommendation: The Woman’s Field Guide to Exceptional Living: Practical Steps for Living a Big, Bold, Beautiful Life! It’s a little book packed with a lot of love! Playful, provocative, inspiring. Of course, I am bias as it is my book :) Folks can actually download the pdf from my website for free to take a peek.
Thanks for such a positive and rich site!
Jenny

Oct 15 08, 5:17 am PDT

52
Another great kid- friendly activity your readers would enjoy is to grow a TickleMe Plant from seeds and then to watch the plant MOVE when Tickled! As a first grade teacher I no longer plant Lima beans, as the growing of this interactive plant, proved to be much more exciting and educational for my student’s.
I found my supplies for a classroom kit at www.ticklemeplant.com but they also sell individual greenhouses and even party favors, with everything you need to grow your own TickleMe Plant from seeds. I assure you your kids will be more excited about gardening, and its just fun to watch the expressions of the faces of children (and even adults) when they see the plant close its leaves and droop when tickled, This plant can be grown year round indoors and makes a great gift year round as well.

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Trackbacks (15)

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40 Simple Gift Ideas to Spark a Smile

67 Comments

Unique Gifts:

Gifts that Touch the Soul:

Books that Change Lives:

Alternative Wrapping Ideas:

67 Responses (52 Comments, 15 Trackbacks ):

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