Problem: I have been trying to be better about giving gifts that people can use up. It seems as if most people have all the "stuff" they need. So I try to give food, a book, music, gift card...something that gets used up.
So last year, as I was thinking about it, I know the fruit of the month club is a really nice idea. The companies that do it charge a fortune though. So I decided I would come up with my own. People get a lot of sweets around the holiday, so I thought I would give mostly veggies with some fruit. I got some plain reusable canvas bags and stenciled Produce Club on them. The I wrote a letter of explanation that went along with them. I decided to do it every other month instead of every month. That would make me crazy and cost too much. I told them I would be giving them an unspecified amount of produce on the even months.
I thought I would give them some things that were on sale, plus maybe buy some stuff that they wouldn't maybe have bought for themselves before to try.
I found out that some people won't try some things anyway. I tried providing recipes for the unfamiliar item. That worked for 2 of them, but one wasn't interested in trying the new items still.
I also found out that I spent about 10$ each to fill their bags. So you figure I probably averaged about 60$ for their Christmas gifts, but spread out over the whole year. More than I would have spent if I just got them a gift all at once. It was a fun thing to do, but I'm not going to do it again this year.
Do you have any fun gift ideas to share before the holidays?
One thing that has been popular with our friends for the past several years (and I always get many thanks) is Stephen's Hot Chocolate (or Stephen's Cider). I usually just make a cute little tag that says, "Warm Wishes for Happy Holidays." -- I love the variety of flavors and I make the tags round to fit inside the rim of the plastic lid on the container. I love that no gift wrap is necessary, and I know it gets used up. The only complaint I've had is that it's addictive and the recipients have had to buy more!
ReplyDeleteGreat Idea!
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