Holiday Giving in Tough Economic Times

Holiday spending can cost hundreds to thousands of dollars each year. Several people await company bonuses in the month of December to help them afford their holiday spending. Other people turn to credit cards and personal loans to pay for their holiday spending. Unfortunately a poor economy has a lot of companies cutting back on the number of employees they have and eliminating Christmas bonuses altogether. The rising cost of food and other things has several people tightening their budgets. How can people still find a way to give a nice holiday gift during tough economic times? Here are some simple tips to help:

Don't underestimate the power of kindness. Depending upon the person, decide what will help them right now. While it may be hard to purchase a gift, consider doing something nice for them. Figure out something to do for that person that will really help them. Perhaps they are an elderly individual and they need help with snow-plowing or lawn mowing. Offer to shovel their snow or mow their lawn. For a spouse, consider creating a coupon booklet that has special favors in it. For example, the booklet could include a home-cooked dinner of their choice or a 2-hour massage.

If you have family that lives far away, consider giving them your frequent flyer miles so they can come in town for the holidays or for a later time. Using your frequent flyer miles to purchase a loved one a ticket is a wonderful gift, especially during the holiday season when people like to see friends and family.

Another thoughtful gift that doesn't cost a lot is to make pictures. Perhaps you could make an online album and share that with friends and family that are far away. Printing out a few pictures and framing them won't cost a lot of money. If you plan on giving pictures to more than one person, consider creating your own decorative frames with some cardboard covered in fabric, glitter, beads, and other creative things.

Knitting is pretty simple and it is a great way to make personalized gifts. You can make stockings, hats, scarves, and other things with some yarn and needles. If you like to give holiday gifts to your neighbors, consider baking cookies or bread and delivering them this year. Making a batch of cookies is much cheaper than purchasing them from the store. The nice thing about homemade presents is that the recipient knows you truly care because you took time to make it.

One way to cut back on the amount of money you spend on children's gifts is to offer them additional privileges. Perhaps you have set rules in place about television time or video game time, offer them an additional hour of game or television time. Instead of buying video games for each individual child, give them to all the children as a "family gift." Another way to save money is to purchase card games or board games instead of video games, and they offer some great bonding time too. You could purchase a membership to a video game rental store for $9.99 or less a month, this way your child can rent all the video games they want and you don't have to purchase them.

If you would like to pick up some extra cash for holiday gifts, you can consider selling some items around your house. Maybe you have a set of antique golf clubs in the attic, try selling them at a pawn shop or on Ebay.com. Looking for more cash? There are several plasma centers and health study centers that are willing to pay $25 or more for your help.

Keep in mind that retailers are working harder than ever to get your business. Now is a wonderful time to be a consumer. Always look for the best prices by checking out the ads and comparing their prices to online retailers. With some purchases like video games, you can find them on Ebay.com for half the price as the retailer because they have been played a couple times. If you go to a store and find an item you really like, wait a few days or a week and check back to see if it has gone on sale. Typically the stores lower prices every Tuesday when the new ads are printed for the week. Avoid using your credit cards when you purchase items. If you find an item for 75% off, you aren't saving any money if you charge it to a credit card and pay interest on it for a few months.

Since so many people are struggling in the poor economy, some companies have taken steps to help these consumers. One company, Kiva.org has created unique gift certificates. You can buy a gift certificate that allows the recipient to turn it into a loan to help pay off their debt or purchase equipment for their store. When the loan is repaid, it can be loaned to another person to borrow money from the system to pay their debts. This gift is sort of like being a banker to your friends and family members that are struggling without actually loaning them money. Kiva.org reports that they loan about $1 million every ten days. The gift certificates can be purchased in small increments like $25 and up.

While many people think gift cards are impersonal, studies have shown that most people prefer a gift card or cash over an actual present. A gift card allows the recipient to purchase whatever they want, and it allows the giver to stay within a budget. Gift cards can be purchased in small increments, like $5 for those on a tight budget.

Even though consumer spending is down, companies are reporting that charitable donations are on the rise. One area to save money is to cut back on the amount of money you donate to a charity; however you can still find ways to help the organization. Putting together a bunch of old clothes, electronics, shoes, or other materials your family no longer uses can be sent to the charity and used to help those individuals that are less fortunate. Instead of cooking a big holiday dinner, volunteer to serve food at a senior center or goodwill center. Not only will you get a chance to make other's holidays memorable, but you will get a free meal for your hard work.

Many people like to give clothing during the holidays. Purchasing name brand clothing can be quite expensive. Instead of shopping from the name-brand retailer, look at thrift stores or discount stores. Some retailers get name-brand clothing and products that didn't sell at the retailer so you can get them for half the price you would pay at the name-brand store.

Always check for case-lot sales if you plan on cooking a big holiday dinner. Consider having family members bring different portions of the meal so you aren't stuck paying for everything.

One other way to give during hard economic times is to share your talent or service with others. For example, if you are an electrician, contractor, plumber, seamstress, etc., you can fix or create something. Offer to do a minor home repair or sew some clothing for the other person. It may even be a simple job like changing oil or changing brake pads. It is a great gift to give if you know the gift recipient wants it done. Start looking for hints from people before you decide they need a home improvement project. Another gift you can give is to do their chores for a week. Some people really hate to clean bathrooms or they hate to dust, whatever chore they absolutely dread should be the chore you offer to do. You could even offer a carpet scrubbing service and rent a Rug Doctor from the store.

A meaningful present for friends and family members is to offer to babysit their children for a night or two. Parents that have a hard time finding babysitters will really appreciate this gift. If your parents are older or you have grandparents, you could offer to chauffer them around for a night. Drive them to the store, to a restaurant, the movies, or anywhere they would like to go. Make sure to clean up your car and have a full tank of gas and a good book to read while they enjoy the evening.

A gift certificate to iTunes is a great present for teenagers and other people that download music. Maybe you have a CD or you have downloaded music that they like, you could even burn them a CD with all the music. Giving a CD filled with holiday music is another great gift to give and it won't cost you too much money.

The best thing you can do to cut back on your spending during the holidays is to carry cash and put the credit cards away. Set a budget for each family member and stick to it. By keeping cash for each individual in envelopes, you will know exactly how much money you have to spend per person. If you don't end up spending all the money, you can give the cash to that person and let them use it how they want. Set family holiday budgets together so everyone knows how much money is available and how much they should spend on gifts as well.