| AMG's 2007 Holiday Gift Guide |
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| by: Krystle Merchant The holiday season is here again, but after a year of birthdays and special occasions you might be all out of gift ideas. The perfect gift does not have to cost a lot of money, but it might take some time to figure out. Before you hit the mall or internet with your shopping list, think of the times you have shared with each person over the last year. Try to remember their favorite activities or any great new ideas that they had. Did they pick up a new hobby or find something new to love? Have there been any changes in their life or your relationship? The memories you think of and the answers to these questions can make the difference between a gift they will like for a week and one they will love until next year. |
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| There are three great gifting websites that will help you change your ideas into the perfect item for your friend, relative, or teacher. Also, we have a few ideas of our own for some fantastic and inexpensive gifts. Gifts.com: This website might be the only one you need to finish your list of great gifts this holiday season. It allows you search for gifts by the personality, |
| occasion, or individual person that you are shopping for. The hundreds of results for each search are also broken down by price, so there is no need to look through items you can not afford or spend more than you were planning. The site is easy to use, has a large selection, and can be used for any occasion, not just winter holidays. The only problem is that you can not search a specific kind of person like “teacher” or “parent” and it can be hard to fit someone in to the personality categories that they use. FindGift.com: This site makes you narrow your search in really helpful ways before you even begin. You can find gifts for couples or whole families and unlike Gifts.com, FindGift.com asks you about the type of person. Need a gift for a grandparent or babysitter? This tool cuts your search results down so you do not have to look through gifts that make no sense for your receiver. It saves time and keeps you from getting distracted. There are fewer choices than other sites and they may not be as up-to-date as you like. LazyGift.com: You can customize your search on this site just the same as the other two, by age, gender, occasion and other categories. The selection is about the same size as FindGift.com, but there are many more quirky gifts that do not always match what you asked for. If you know someone who likes joke gifts, this site is probably the best of the three. Otherwise, you may want to use it only if you are not able to find anything else. If you do not find what you were looking for on those websites or you just want something that is a little more special, personalized gifts are the way to go. |
| For a friend that loves jewelry, you can find great inexpensive pieces in their favorite color or to match their style. Try Claire’s or Target for pieces that match the big style trends and your budget. Or consider a plain wooden jewelry box from a craft store that you can paint and decorate. For the friend that always has her camera and documents your lives together, buy a cute and colorful photo album or sign them up for scrapbooking classes at your local craft store. A great do-it-yourself gift is a themed gift pack. Buy boxes or bags at department stores and get movies, books, food, or other items that match your theme. |
| Friends who love the movies get popcorn, movie tickets, and their favorite king-size candy in a tub. If you have a friend that just learned to drive or bought a car, you can fill a box with gum, air freshener, a flashlight, and other car essentials. There are a lot of small basic things to choose from and you will get to put them together yourself. Finding a container will be the most difficult and expensive part, but altogether personalized gift packs will cost anywhere from twenty to thirty dollars. For teachers, you may want to get some help from a parent. They can use contact lists or PTAs to find out if individual gifts or group gifts are better. An important thing to consider when buying for your teachers is that gifts for the classroom are not the same as gifts for the person. Some teachers would prefer a handwritten thank you note or a “World’s Best Teacher” mug to a set of colored pencils or gift certificate to a book store. And don't forget about charity! 'Tis the season to share, and many charities have great gifts in exchange for a small donation. The World Wildlife Fund (www.worldwildlife.org), Make It Right (www.makeitrightnola.org), and Product RED (www.joinred.com) all donate the proceeds from your gifts directly to charity. The WWF works to protect animal species around the world with the donations that you make. Your friends will receive a stuffed animal of one of the eighty species on their adoption list. Make It Right (supported by Brad Pitt!) works to rebuild the Ninth Ward in New Orleans, Louisiana. This area was one of the hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the money from the T-shirts and hats they sell goes directly to building new homes for families who lost everything after the storm. Finally, Product (RED) offers bracelets, shirts, and other items to stop the spread of AIDS in Africa. Your friends will love that you care about them enough to help them change the world. This is a great time to be creative and brighten someone’s day. Use the gifting sites or come up with something on your own. Either way, you could surprise yourself! |
