Three Frugal Gift Ideas for the Difficult People on Your List

Are there people on your Christmas gift-giving list that are impossible to buy for? For a variety of reasons these people are just plain difficult, maybe they are older and have everything, maybe they are picky, or maybe I'm just out of creative ideas.



3 Frugal Gift Ideas

1. A Homecooked Meal.
   
   
   We give the gift of a homecooked meal to my grandparents. They really don't need or want anything and both of my grandmothers are trying to downsize. What my grandparents really want is to spend time with my family and we enjoy spending time with them. Make it special. Use the good china. Watch a movie or old home videos. Play a game. The gift is of time spent together and the memories made will last forever.
2. Homemade Cookies of the Month Club
   Do you remember the episode of Everybody Loves Raymond where Ray and Debra give his parents a fruit of the month club membership? It is hysterical. "The pears, what am I going to do with all of these pears?" But honestly, I would love a fruit-of-the-month membership as a gift. When I checked it out as a gift possibility for a family member, I found that it doesn't fit into our budget, but Homemade Cookies of the Month does. Each month could be a different cookie recipe. The gift doesn't have to be for the entire 12 months of the year; you could do 3-6 months of delivering cookies to the recipient. Create a certificate on your computer to explain the gift. Package the cookies in pretty bag or box. Also, this is an opportunity to spend time with the recipient.
3. Give the Gift of Giving
   For my fortieth birthday, our neighbors across the street gave me a card. Inside was a signed check for $20, but the 'pay to the order of' line was not filled in. There was a note attached that read, "In honor of your birthday, please fill out the check and send it to your favorite charity." I sent it to a local food bank. I received some wonderful gifts for my birthday, but this was my favorite that year.

I love Christmas, but I don't love the stress that seems to slip into the season. The gift of time and thoughtfulness can go a long way with our loved ones, without taking a big bite out of your balance sheet.

What frugal gift ideas do you have for the impossible people on your list?

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This post is linked to:

• Thrifty Thursday at The Coupon Teacher
• Frugal Friday at Life as MOM