Holiday Gift-Giving Guide: Practical Tips for Giving Meaningful Gifts

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A gift is your way of expressing how you feel about another person –- your way of showing them gratitude for having them in your life. The best gift you can give is the gift of sharing yourself or your feelings with someone — being present with them in a way that reminds them that they mean something to you. The best way support this intention is to give gifts of experiences or gifts from the heart. Either can include handmade items (either made by yourself or by someone else) and green gifts that make a difference (in terms of supporting the producers who make it or providing some bigger benefit when used by the recipient –or both).

So how do decide what type of gift to give? No doubt time and financial considerations will drive your choices. If you don’t have a lot of money to spend but you have some flexibility in your schedule or some free time to share then gifts of love and support or low-to-no cost experiences will be your best option. Or handmade items that don’t cost a lot to make.

If money is not a concern but time is limited then buying practical green gifts, handmade items (made by someone else) and gifts that support organizations or cause that are important to your giftee are a good choice.

But the most memorable and meaningful gifts are those of experiences. There’s something deeply satisfying and gratifying about sharing experiences with someone you care about. It builds and strengthens the bond between you. It can be something simple like taking them out for dinner and a movie, going to a concert, play, or sporting event together, to something more involved like spending a day hiking or exploring in nature, a visit to the local museum, or volunteering for an event. If you can swing it then spending an afternoon or a day getting pampered at a Spa, or going on a vacation or adventure of some sort is even better!

The emphasis should be on togetherness. When you give a gift of an experience that you are going to share together then you are creating an arc of sharing that starts with the anticipation that precedes the event, the experience of the event itself, the immediate afterglow, and the memory or reminiscence of it later on. This is priceless when compared to just handing them a gift certificate or pair of tickets to something to do on their own or with others.

If you’ve ever given or received a gift of an experience that made an impact on you or the person you gifted, please leave a comment and share your story here.