I thought of the following but they seem a little lame:
- Oil of Olay soap
- Neutrogena Rainbath shower gel
- Knee-hi stockings in black & in beige (I can never wear a pair more than once!)
- My favorite coffee, Brew Masters Donut Shop Blend, which no store in Ohio carries any more so I would have to mail order direct from the roaster.
- Kitchen dishcloths (I'd love to throw ALL of mine out and get all new!)
- Potholders (ditto -throw out the old nasty ones)

I'm trying to think of things I either won't buy myself because they're too expensive (like the Oil of Olay soap, Rain Bath & coffee) or am going to buy anyway but can always use like the knee-his. Can you all help us make a wish list? THANKS in advance!

Oh and no giftcards for me - I never remember I have them in my purse - have been carrying around a JC Penny gift card for almost 2 years, have been to Penny's a dozen times and never remember it!

Some things I can think of are special jellies, liquid hand soap from Stone Mountain, nuts from Georgia (or any other special food treat I probably wouldn't think of), house plants or flowers, anything handmade from a grandchild, new garden gloves, birdseed (if you feed the birds - boy have those prices gone up), nice new sofa pillows (good to change the decor once in a while), supplies for favorite hobbies, books, computer supplies (paper, ink). That's all I can think of right now, but you've got my thoughts going in the right direction.

I would also hate to receive any more holiday decorations, or ornaments for the tree, and I wouldn't be at all shy about telling people that!

Monthly fresh flower delivery;

Monthly fruit delivery.

Some charities provide livestock gifts in your name to people who need them.

Heifer.org is one organization, there are others.

-Lena

What about paper? Do you need stationary (if you write letters), or a set of cards to send out (thank you cards, or even just all occasion cards). I buy a box of handmade cards at Costco every year...it would be great if someone would buy those *for* me. I love just little notecards to send out, so I ask for those.

I'd like:
-handsoap and lotion at Bath and Body Works
-a meal somebody besides me cooked. Pizza delivery would be just fine.
-someone to babysit the kids
-a gift of time where we go out and do something together. It doesn't have to be expensive. i'd be happy with a picnic in the park.

Museum passes are along that line, too.

And this is a little off to the side, but with our parents/in-laws, we also started not "waiting" for Christmas and just gift as we go along. Of course it helps to have great in-laws that do not expect specific gifts or amounts of gifting on each holiday. So if we go somewhere and find a great gourmet treat, we give it as soon as we see them or can ship it; or get the best home blood pressure cuff they need right now rather that wait 'til Christmas. Then of course it's great if you actually hit upon something they ask for again so you can re-supply it.

It may seem obvious to do that, but at times it is tempting to save up your ideas and "wait" until Christmas for those that are hard to gift, but with older relatives (heck, I'm starting to qualify), I just began saying, life's too short to wait for Christmas.

We have also done a lot of fruit deliveries, hams and other items at holidays. Those Riviera pears are truly better and different from what you can buy in the store. Fresh flower arrangements are also nice, and just fine that they die and disappear.

One of the toughest gifts to give, I think, are to kids you don't know or know that well. I hate wasting the time, not to mention the money searching for SOMETHING they might actually use for more than the next day or week . . . and not have three of already! A couple of years ago, I hit on an idea that's gone over really well, with kids, teens and adults. When Target has them in their Dollar Section, I pick up a bunch of the individual hard plastic popcorn boxes/cups. They're usually red & white stripe and say Popcorn on the front. I put the yellow crinkley shredded paper in the bottoms, add a couple candy bars, a packet or two of microwave popcorn and two passes to the local movie theater so they can go see whatever movie they choose. If I want to spend a bit more, I add a gift certificate they can use for snacks at the movies, too.
Lynn

Bittersweet chocolate
Kiss My Face olive oil soap, or similar nice quality soap
Herbal teas
Spending time together just talking
Going together to a movie, a museum, a park
I second the "home made goodies"!

One thing my husband recently did for his mom was buy her a Jitterbug mobile phone, which is a much more simplified version of a phone that she could finally figure out how to use. She's been using it a lot, and LOVES IT. We're thinking about doing the same for my mom, since she's always confused about how to use/dial the phone when she uses it. Last year we gave her an extra mobile phone battery that she could charge and keep in her purse should her phone battery give out while she was using it.

We've also given a year's worth of car washes to his Mom which she used once a week faithfully, as she has to park her car under a messy tree that weeps sap at certain times of the year.

Some really nice reusable grocery bags are a great gift, and I especially like the ones that fold up into their own pocket that you can keep in your purse. (I absolutely love these things.) I recently found some mesh bags at the Dollar Store that were four for a buck. As they weigh almost nothing, they are perfect for taking in my reusable grocery bags for hauling produce from the store. I tested them to make sure stems from grapes or apples wouldn't snag the mesh, and they're big enough to hold 5 lbs. of apples or oranges if you want to stock up. They were so inexpensive, I bought plenty to share as gifts during the holidays.

I know this sounds insane, but I really like Method cleaning supplies, but think they're too expensive. My kids teased me about wanting cleaning supplies, but I love having everything in Pink Grapefruit.

We get my FIL and his lady friend gift certificates to their favorite restaurants as they eat out frequently. Super-easy, and appreciated.

One of my girlfriends makes most of her Christmas gifts, and over the years she's given me hand-knit mittens, frozen homemade cinnamon roll dough, a mammoth jar of cinnamon sugar, and homemade truffles - yum!

This is a great thread! We do a lot of gift cards, but I like many of these ideas better.

My mother used to give me a roll of stamps every Christmas, which I *loved*!

My dad used to give me a book of 10 passes to a local car wash, which I also loved getting.

A present I've given a number of times to parents with small kids is a night of babysitting plus movie tickets or a gift certificate to a restaurant.

Other things I've given or received and liked are printer ink, batteries (especially AA, which seem to go in everything), tickets for a play or concert, restaurant gift certificates, gas station gift certificates, grocery store gift certificate (just once, to a family member I knew was very low on money, and I gave her something more personal, too).

I think home-made goodies can be tricky. I've received a number of bottles of lovely flavored vinegar, for example, and I *hate* vinegar. I've received plates of delicious home-made cookies that made my heart sink, because I was trying to eat healthy and knew I wouldn't be able to resist them.

Finally, over the years, my family has developed the tradition of filling our Christmas stockings with things like toothpaste, face cream, deodorant, etc. We just look in the medicine cabinet to find the right brands. It might sound silly to people who do more elaborate stockings, but I like having all my toiletries replenished!

There are cookbooks called something like "Gifts in a jar" -- recipes for layering ingredients for breads, cookies, soups, etc., in a pint or quart jar. Very cute.

Last Christmas I asked for and got a "foot care" box -- products from Body and Bath Works that I love, all in a cute box with some bonus chocolate!

Arlene

Another year, I did "Our Favorite Kitchen Things" baskets. DH & I love to cook and we put in great little finds that make cooking fun ~ and easier ~ for us. A garlic peeler tube, the world's best basting brush, a set of three 4 oz measuring cups from Target, a box of imported Italian pasta and sauce; a cd of romantic Italian dinner music, wine, etc. I lined the baskets with red & white checked napkins.

Another year, after vacationing in the Caribbean, I ended up making "Caribbean Get Away" boxes for everyone. I cut up Caribbean-print fabric to line the boxes and added Caribbean spice packets, chocolates, cookbooks we'd bought at the (fabulous!) Sugar Mill restaurant on Tortola, a mango or kiwi scented tea candle, etc, along with a CD of Caribbean steel drum music.

For smaller gifts for teachers, school bus drivers, etc. I do smaller versions of them. Like this one I made for our bus driver. This was the "Snuggle Up & Enjoy Winter" year:

I like gifts that people can use and use up.
Lynn

What I hope I don't get is bath products.

I started using all natural shea butter for my face and body about three years ago. Still I routinely receive Bath and Body products in yummy scents as gifts. I can understand how the yummy scents sell these products but I am addicted to the results I get with the no-nonsense shea butter. And as someone with a jacuzzi, I only use bath salts and have no use for bath oil or bubble bath. I donate those to the women's shelter. I don't know if there is a proper way to "not ask" for bath products!

For my mom I have many times purchased tickets to plays or live musical events which she loves. (Two tickets and she usually takes me but not always). This year I bought a device that will back up all her computer files. She depends on me for computer advice (poor soul!) and I'm afraid she's headed for a crash with her computer that is so old. For a special uncle and my FIL we have purchased car wash certificates or car detailing. We live in a Northern climate where it's hard to do those kind of things in the winter. My uncle also loves to grill no matter the weather so last year we gave him a box of steaks. This year I am considering a remote car starter for him. (FIL needs to have his driving priviledges taken away, LOL, or he'd get one, too!)

My kids know I love plants as gifts (Mother's Day and my birthday) but in this climate they don't make good Christmas presents. But anything connected with outdoor gardening or bird watching is wonderful.

For example---
DH and and I do not drink coffee... ever.
Never have... never will.
So, please, don't waste your money buying us flavored coffees or Starbucks gift cards.

----
On a Christmas site I go to, there is a thread about gifts you DO NOT want for Christmas.
My main ones are:
--- Clothes
--- Decorations/knickknacks
--- lottery tickets (what a waste of money!).
--- anything with a scent, especially candles.
--- Hickory Farms (and the like) food items.

I like "reading baskets" with a novel or 2, a couple of magazines, perhaps add'l gift card or subscription (if you know they want it).

I'm trying to expand my non-Christmas repetoire, especially for office staff. I work with a lot of people whom I ought to "do" something for every so often, but it really doesn't all have to be at Christmas, which can get overwhelming. So I'm trying to get on perhaps a schedule, of some folks at Christmas, and some for Valentine's, and some for this Day or that Week, or just for kicks, and so on, and I likely even need to keep a yearly list of what for whom. I said I was going to do this years ago, but haven't ever got it really down pat.

So that is shifting more toward the "organization" of gifting and recognizing employees and not just consumable gifts per se.

You can't, really.

You can talk, in the normal course of things, about your allergies, or say, "Oh, we don't drink coffee."

You can sort of jokingly mention it to the closest people. I told everyone I knew, not at Christmas, "If ever it should cross your mind that you want to buy me a present--not that you should buy me a present ever, mind you--don't buy me mugs!"

Otherwise, you just get rid of the thing you don't like.

Don't consider that they have "wasted their money." They spent their money *mostly* to send you a message that they like you. If that message arrived successfully, then they have not wasted the cash. They maybe didn't get full value, but it wasn't wasted.

1) Winter's coming: For any family, how about arranging for a series of sidewalk snow shovelings?

2) If you are a member of Costco, they have large containers of really tasty cashews. It's a bear getting the lid off, but yummy!

3) How about a "personal" gift certificate to do a version of a family history for them? I remember reading an article about 2 women who compiled family recipes for folks, complete with photos of the food and the key cooks (using ones of folks since passed on, too) and stories about family gatherings and interesting incidents, into bound books.

4) Something I occasionally did when my mother's birthday rolled around was to call the hair salon she went to (which she did pretty much weekly!) and tell them I wanted to pay for her visit during birthday week. So when she went to pay, she got a surprise! (She would've liked the traditional flowers, too, but I'm sure she loved the salon thing a little bit more!)

What wonderful ideas. I do baskets for a few people. Try to do different ones every year of things I know that they will use. I do that for a few neighbors.

I need to buy a gift for the boy next store. He is 12 and I never had a boy so I was thinking of making him a junk food basket. His sisters are easy as I do makeup or lotions, etc. Sometimes I will find them nice jewelery on sale or clearance at Kohl's or Penney's.

Any ideas for teachers. They are hard because how many lotions and candles can one person have. I usually buy them books for the class room when they do the fund raiser but they had that in August and teachers didn't put in their wish lists.

Otherideas are grandkids/pets on stamps. I Don't remember the website but it was acute idea. they are really mailable too!

Idea baskets. I once had a family member down and out so I put togethere a basket with "Revive" shampoo (I think it was called that!). I don't remember what I used now but it sure was fun shopping for that lift me up basket.

Great thread!

The other thing she really liked is the electric kettle we use to heat water. I didn't realize this, but she's still heating water on her stove or in the microwave for her twice daily tea/coffee. When I told her the electric kettle heats water much more quickly than the microwave, I don't think she believed me, but as she used it, she changed her mind. I'm hunting one down for her as I think she'll really love it. I really debated about this as she doesn't have a lot of space, but the cost per use (2xdaily) makes it a good option for her.

I will be honest, it took some convincing that I would consier it a gift becuase it wasn't wrapped with a box and bow, but now it's a tradition.

When my kids were in elementary school/early teens, I gave part of their Christmas gifts as "certificates" that were a big hit and were part of our attempt to "gift" without it all being "stuff". Some items were: a free pass to not have to do certain chores; free movie/TV on a non-TV night ( we allowed no TV or movies Sun-Thu night when they were in school) , free "take me to the mall" or go for ice cream pass, and so forth. The idea was they could pull these on the parents and get our time or something special without us going, oh, we're too tired, or whatever--they loved it! Of course you have to be up for occasional spur of the moment things! It might seem like you would do all these things anyway, but when kids are still young they see it as pulling something over on the parents and it's "cool".

Huh? X is the traditional abbreviation, based on the Greek word for "Christ".

But I am in favor of including everyone by referring to the winter solstice holidays as Yuletide.

-Lena

She bought me 12 large bottles! I just ran out a few weeks ago at te end of September. It was wonderful to have almost a years supply of laundry detergent. Best gift I ever received! I'm hoping she does it again this year.

My birthday is this month. I told my mom I want 2 gallons of paint to paint my bedroom and gave her the paint chip for the color. I hope she gets that for me!

My friend told me this week I must have been a man in previous lives "because women don't like practical gifts." I told him not to judge all women by his wife and mother. I know a whole community of chicks who like practical gifts - this Forum.

I never got it, though.

Mommabird, I remember your huge supply of something practical as a gift (did we joke about asking for toilet paper?)--I think that's really great. Because PART of the gift is the idea that you just don't have to spend time on it. That's the non-practical, indulgent side of those gifts.

I did ask for a year supply of tp one year but MIL thought I was joking and didn't get it. I was actually serious. I'd rather have a case of to than another top, scarf or sweater! Or how about the most thoughtless gift if all - gloves? To me gloves are as personal as underwear. They have to fit "like a glove." Many times over the years MIL or SIL have gotten me gloves and they never fit.

I agree that charity giving should ideally match the known interests of the recipient, but unless the donation is made to a charity whose mission I oppose, I can live with it.

Peegee, I know about struggling with unwanted gifts and the sadness of wasted time and money. But it is possible to reduce your angst over these things if you work at it. If you support the mission of Goodwill or Sal Army, you realize the unwanted gift ends up being bought by someone who wants it and the proceeds help people who need help.

It's good to have a plan and get the item out of the house fairly quickly. Don't let it sit there and fester in your mind.

My children are each getting a colorful Swiss army knife in their stockings (the tiniest size comes in 10 colors and patterns-or at least it did 6 months ago). I've also found that basic black "tech" cases are good gifts for guys. There is a ton of stuff that they can put in them... cords, chargers, headphones, etc. For gals, nothing beats a Vera Bradley item... these are so cheerful and you can find rather small things that are useful. Check out the Vera Bradley slim case that I've linked below. It is tiny but holds things that are usually hard to keep track of in a purse or bag.

I know these suggestions aren't "consumables," I'm sorry to have hijacked this thread! I just wanted to share what I have found to simplifiy my life: choosing one or two simple gifts that work for everyone. My husband and I have large families, so this helps, time-wise and money wise too. The measuring cup and bookmark cost about $4 each. The licorice is about $3 a box (small box).

Someone mentioned Penzy Spices up-thread. I wanted to add that Penzy Cinnamon is the sweetest, most flavorful cinnamon I have ever tasted. It's amazing and would be welcomed in my home anytime!

I did this for my daughter and added a quote about reading to the bottom corner of the card.

Inexpensive, but both useful AND consumable.

This would be good for a baby (how cute--the baby's own stationery!) and an elderly person, and all ages in between.

Last Christmas my son wanted to give his grandmothers plants, so we found a mail-order roses site (David Austen, actually) and ordered them each plants. We printed out the page and wrapped it in a box with a note that said they were on their way.

They were both very happy--but my mom died at the end of January, so she never got hers. Dad decided not to plant it at the house and gave it to the church instead.

My husband used to stress about birthday gifts for me, because, let's just say he wasn't good at it. One year when the kids were small, I told him I really missed sewing because I never seemed to have time to get to it, so that's what I wanted for my birthday. He seemed skeptical but I assured him that was what I wanted. My sewing room is in the basement, so from the time I got up until bedtime I was down there alone by choice. No crying kids to attend to, not one diaper to change, no phone to answer, meals to make- nothing. My husband periodically brought me fresh coffee and called me when dinner was ready. I was thrilled, and we did that for several years. I actually made progress on lingering projects or was excited about something new. Maybe your hobby lover would like this sort of gift. Not an item, but the uninterupted opportunity to enjoy something they like and the peace of mind knowing their responsibilities are not neglected, so the pleasure is guilt-free!

Yes, this could have been on TV, it was that bad.

However, my point is, before sending food, make sure it is something the individual would in fact eat. I love fruitcake, she did not. If she had regifted it to me, I would have been in fruitcake heaven!

Barbara

My DD, the 12/23 baby, always ended up with too much 'stuff' each year. This year, on her own, she chose to celebrate her birthday by taking donations for the ASPCA. The kids had so much fun with the idea, and she collected a lot. We even garnered donations from the balloon lady at the store who always makes DD's birthday balloons for her party.

The intriguing thing was that some of her friends could not accept that she really didn't want anything for herself. And so they got something for the animals, and something for her.

I really hated it because some of the kids did bring just the pet gifts and felt like they had undergiven.