The Best Recession-Proof Holiday Gift Ideas
Presents for Family and Friends With Less Consumerism
Nov 9, 2009
The 2009 recession has many people examining their spending habits, especially leading up to the holiday season. Although the International Council of Shopping Centers predicts that Americans will spend more during the 2009 holiday season than in 2008, this increase will probably be relatively modest (ICSC and Goldman Sach's 2009 Holiday Spending Survey).
Many people may spend less and buy fewer things because of personal preference, not only economic necessity. "Mass consumption, the underpinning of the American economy since 1946, is dead, dead, dead" declares marketing expert Mark Thornhill ("The Age of Responsible Consumerism", MediaPost publication, July 20, 2009). Correspondent Matt Richtel of the New York Times even characterizes some consumers' moods as "gleefully frugal" as they readjust their material expectations to their budgets ("Austere Times? Perfect", April 10, 2009).
Appealing, recession-friendly gifts don't need to be expensive. For example, personalized calendars or books would be thoughtful as well as economical gifts. In addition, contributions to charity are another possibility, which would have the added benefit of helping others this holiday season. Homemade gifts, handmade items, and "practical" presents like gift certificates may also help Americans express their holiday wishes to family and friends without going over budget.
Personalized Items Are Recession-Friendly Holiday Gifts
Everyone loves a gift that's been made just for them. Even people who do not consider themselves to be particularly "crafty" or creative can use their own snapshots and digital photos to make a personalized book, calendar, or card. For example, websites such as Kodak.com) and Vistaprint.com allow customers to upload their own photos, choose a layout, add captions, and so on, to make several custom products such as photo books, calendars, tote bags, and mugs.
Macintosh users may also choose to order personalized books, cards, or calendars using a built-in feature of iPhoto, the photo management software package included on all Macintosh computers.
Homemade Gift Ideas For the Holidays
Homemade cookies, including the holiday favorite frosted cut-out sugar cookies, chocolate chip cookies, or brownies are a thoughtful and delicious way to spread holiday cheer. Scrapbooks or photo albums are also great gift ideas for someone on a budget. Although preparing a scrapbook can be time-consuming, the recipient will appreciate the finished product all the more and enjoy looking through it in the years to come.
Gifts to Charity A Way to Help Others While Honoring Loved Ones
Many charities, such as the March of Dimes, allow donors to make "gift donations"; that is, contributions in someone else's name. The nonprofit organization JustGive.org even offers a gift card, the GiveNow Card, that the recipient uses to make a donation to one of 1.5 million charities in the JustGive database. This makes it possible for the gift-giver to allow the recipient to select which charity to contribute to.
Charity Navigator, a respected nonprofit that helps donors evaluate charities' quality, warns that the recession is responsible for the largest drop in contributions to charity in 50 years. They report that this downturn in charitable giving is likely to continue through the holidays, which would be especially damaging because many charities rely on end-of-the-year donations to make ends meet ("Recession Likely to Curb Holiday Donations", www.charitynavigator.org, November 1, 2009).
Therefore, gift donations would help consumers stay within budget over the holidays, and engage in philanthropy at the same time.
Fun Gift Certificate Ideas
An easy way to reduce the "stuff" purchased over the holidays is to buy gift certificates or gift cards for services such as haircuts, manicures/pedicures, restaurants, and so on. A practical gift like this would be especially appreciated during the current recession, now that many Americans are cutting back on luxuries such as eating out.
Holiday Season Doesn't Need to be Dampened by the Recession
There are many ways to make the holidays special in spite of stricter spending trends. In fact, some may view the current withdrawal from Christmas consumerism to be an opportunity. Scrapbooks, photo books or calendars, homemade cookies, a charitable donation, or a gift certificate are all great gift ideas for friends and family that are particularly recession-friendly.
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