Alternate Gift Giving

By John Pappas - Outreach Coordinator, Rapid City Public Library| Monday, December 14, 2009

Alternative gift giving originally took the form of donations made in the recipient’s name rather than receiving an actual, tangible gift. It is the ultimate version of “It’s the thought that counts”. Ideally, the money would go towards a cause or charity that you, yourself would donate to. Benjamin Franklin himself had an opinion on Alternative Gift Giving when he described it as a “trick…for doing a deal of good with a little money”. I think Ol’ Ben hit it right on the head.
I also think that Alternative Gift giving need not be limited to just charity donations. In trying to remove some of the clutter from my home, I’ve notices just how much “stuff” I have accumulated over the years and how much that “stuff” isn’t really useful to me at all. So rather than spend another holiday season giving and receiving things that are probably only going to be stuffed into a closet – my family went with a $50 Holiday Season. That is, we are only to spend $50 dollars total on everyone on our gift-giving list.

Here are a few suggestions to get you started.

Recipe book – My wife and I did these for our wedding favors. We collected a bunch of our old family recipes as well as some new ones from our recent members. Print those out on nice sturdy paper and you’ve got a gift for everyone. Remember to leave some space for additional recipes that I am sure will be gathered later.
Homemade Music Compilation – I used to do these on cassette tapes but I suppose the times have changed. Some of us are constantly sitting in front of a computer for work so setting up a free music station on Pandora.com would be a great free gift. List four favorite artists on a channel and Pandora will add new music of a similar quality whenever you listen.
Mini Loaves – One year I made pumpkin bread for everyone on my list but you could make whatever you like. I added packets of instant spiced cider, cocoa, tea and mulling spices. I then tied it up with a bow to make it pretty along with a recipe card for the bread. Simple and homey!
Re-Gift – I love to re-gift stuff from Holidays past. You can personalize it by thinking of what you don’t need and what your family and friends do need. My personal favorite was to take one of my hundreds of souvenir or silly coffee mugs and fill it with all sorts of goodies from around the kitchen. Great time to pop into a Dollar or Discount Store to find some mug-stuffers.
Make Stuff – Are you crafty or artistic? I’m not so I can’t help you but feel free to use what talents you have to make something. The home-made cards my wife made while we were dating are still my favorite gifts. It’s a shame to not put your own talents to positive use. My father used to give out his tax-filing skills away for Christmas presents. Once tax season rolls around there were several happy people (and one very busy father!).
Books and Calendars –There are several online services that can upload your pictures to and make a picture or photo book. As random gifts to the grandparents, we took several pictures of them and our daughter and then created a book online. It was inexpensive, cute and thoughtful.
Online – This is simple. Just go to www.instructables.com and pick a craft. Too many awesome ideas for homemade gifts to go into here. I learned how to make my old t-shirts into a scarf and I ended up giving my wife a homemade scarf made from all the old t-shirts she told me to get rid of. Priceless.
Homemade Candles – You can either buy the wax or reuse your old candles. I purchased some molding clay and made my own small bowls and then poured the melted wax in with some dried flowers and a wick. They smelled great and they were a big hit as stocking stuffers.
Books – The Friends of the Library hold two used book-sales at RCPL-Downtown as well as a year-long book sale area located right across from our circulation desk. Feel free to browse and find an old favorite for someone or try something new.

Well, I hope that gave everyone a few ideas on Alternative Gift Giving for this holiday season. There are plenty of low-cost, green and mindful gifts to give so have fun and experiment! And remember, if you are having a tough time coming up with something, stop by the Rapid City Public Library and browse around some of our craft books. I’m sure something will jump out at you.