[AC] RESOURCE: MORE RELATIONAL GIFT IDEAS!
Feel free to use this as a launching pad to create your own ideas, share it with your friends and family and comment on it to share your ideas with us!!
Spending Time Together:
Here’s some creative ways to give the gift of spending time together during the holidays.
Prepare a feast with a meal, candles and ambiance music
Buy your child a baseball bat for a trip to the batting cages together
Wrap a pound of local coffee or a tin of favorite tea with a date to get together with a close friend
Nutcracker Suite ballet tickets for a trip with another child
Wrap popcorn and a classic DVD for a movie night with a friend
Host Monday night football and make some homemade pizzas
Wrap 2 copies of a classic book (check out Powell’s) to read with a friend
Hot cocoa, bundling up, & walking through the Christmas lit streets in town
Creative Coupons:
Creative coupons are a way of relationally giving away your skills, talents or time to bless someone close to you. You can make these out of paper or card-stock and feel free to decorate ‘em up!
“Babysitting” for those parents who could use a night out
“Yard work” for an elderly person in your life
“Massage” for that person who’s been working a bit too hard lately
“Road trip” to get on an out-of-town adventure together with your child
“Free Pint” to get together and talk theology and what God is doing in your lives
“Car Maintenance” to change the oil in a friend’s car if you know how
“House project” to help them build that shed, clean the garage, fix the porch, etc.- any house project you could both do together
Bath & Body:
You can make some great bath & body products without ever setting foot in the mall. Here are some great websites where you can find recipes for these and similar products.
Brown sugar body scrub: www.pioneerthinking.com
Facial soaps: www.bellahandmadesoap.com
Scented candles: www.cajuncandles.com
“ReadyMade”:
“ReadyMade” magazine is the most creative resource out there for some really fun, interesting and creative handmade craft projects. Check out their website at www.readymademag.com for some great ideas or for $25 bucks you & a few friends could go in together on their great book “How to Make (Almost) Everything”.
· Messenger bag (no sewing required)
· Stylish doormat from clothespins
· Classic picture frame from a hardcover book
· Closet organizer from shoe boxes and hangers
· Designer clock made from chopsticks
· Wine rack from coat hangers
· Picnic tote from a blanket
· Terry apron from hand towels
· Action-figure snow-globe
· CD Holder made from Lego’s or FedEx tubes
Things to Make:
A recipe book with your favorite recipes for a neighbor
A photo album of the kids for the distant relatives
With the kids hand-paint some new pottery mugs or
dishes at a ceramics store
A memory book with photos, ticket stubs, etc. of things you’ve done together
Record an interview with grandparents on the history of their life to give the family
Build a raised garden bed for herbs or vegetables
A DVD of your life these days for that long-distance friend, take a tour of your town, house, job etc…
Paint or draw a picture
Scrabble board appreciation-arrange an old scrabble board of words that express memories and attributes of that special person. Glue the pieces down and put a picture hanger on the back for them to hang it up as art!
Of course, Martha Stewart has a ton of gift ideas to make that are really nice and many of them are low cost www.marthastewart.com/crafts
Food & Drink:
If the quickest way to the heart is through the stomach, here are some ideas of some great things to bake for others during the Christmas season! Some websites you can look to for creative recipe ideas are: www.christmas-baking.com , www.epicurious.com , www.foodnetwork.com , www.recipezaar.com Here are some of the types of recipes we found there:
Sweet Potato Pie (with Gingersnap Crust)
Vanilla Hot Cocoa Mix
Holiday Biscotti with Cranberries
Nutmeg Scented Scones
Old-fashioned Peanut Brittle
Mixed Nut Spiced Toffee
Peppermint Bark
Chocolate Truffles
Cinnamon Streusel Cider Muffins
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October 22nd, 2007 at 1:54 pm
[…] Advent Conspiracy wrote a fantastic post today on “RESOURCE: MORE RELATIONAL GIFT IDEAS!”Here’s ONLY a quick extract · Designer clock made from chopsticks · Wine rack from coat hangers · Picnic tote from […]
October 22nd, 2007 at 2:37 pm
[…] came across this post - RESOURCE: MORE RELATIONAL GIFT IDEAS! - and thought it was worth sharing. I hope you find it interesting too and take the time to read […]
October 24th, 2007 at 1:57 pm
[…] More Relational Gift Ideas […]
November 7th, 2007 at 12:27 pm
I was wondering if anyone out there has used some special music songs for AC?
Please share if you have any good ones.
Thanks
November 8th, 2007 at 5:54 am
OK, I dont have a list of MORE gifts (relational or not) for our children/grandchildren. One of my sons asked me what I like for my birthday (Nov 7,). He had only one day to do the shopping. My reply was to send money he planned to spend for me, on my behalf to ministry in the world’s largest UNREACHED country in the world, Turkey. I would like to challenge all of us Christians this Christmas to support a ministry in the 10/40 window as much as we spend on relatives/friends. By the way Turkey has about 3,500 Christians for its 80 million people
November 8th, 2007 at 7:56 am
This may sound like a relational gift idea that every mom should know but I thought it was worth saying. This year insead of going out and buying your kids teachers gifts or chocolates etc. Spend time with your children making different cookies or breads for their teachers. Not only are the teachers getting something better (and delicious) but you are spending some wonderful time with your children teaching them the true idea of giving during the time when we remember our Savior’s birth.
November 15th, 2007 at 11:14 am
while it’s not neccesarily a relational gift idea, in response to Denise’s question about songs…
Go to www.praisecharts.com and do a search for a song entitled “Let This Christmas Be” by Ryan Dahl and Mark Cole. I’ve used the song for a number of years now. It does capture at least some of what AC is about.
November 16th, 2007 at 6:20 pm
I’m going to donate to Heifer Internatl in the name of my obss and a couple other people I must honor at this time of year. This makes me feel good and will please them very much.
November 25th, 2007 at 12:55 pm
Samiratan’s Purse also has a great gift catalog to purchase gifts for someone else who may already have everything. It also helps people in other countries, who may have little or nothing this year. Also, when you visit the stores in your neighborhood and there is a bell ringer for Salvation Army–why not get them a hot cup of coffee or chocolate. God Bless and may this be the year we bring Christmas back to the focus of CHRIST! Thanks for bringing this message to the world.
November 25th, 2007 at 4:09 pm
Micro financer Kiva.org has wonderful gift certificates. This is a wonderful way to help others in the world, but it leaves the control of the money with the person you’re giving the gift to. They may decide to withdraw the cash when it’s ready, but they again, they may just want to let it roll over to another person in another country after seeing the impact it’s had. One could get them for nieces and nephews or instead get them for Christmas 2008 a year early so they have time to get their $ back in time or even early (this may also help to send the message that next year you’re planning on doing Christmas a little differently). It could be even more relational to sit down with them and help them choose a business to sponsor.
November 25th, 2007 at 6:33 pm
[…] but, rather, about giving better gifts — our time, our creativity, our hearts. Read through AC’s list of relational gift ideas and see if you don’t come across something that would really touch the heart of someone you […]
November 27th, 2007 at 4:55 pm
Great gift idea - almost free too! It’s called a jar of thank yous. First you need a jar, obviously:). Then on strips of paper you write whatever it is you want to thank someone for. I recommend using different colored paper, confetti or ribbon to decorate. You could even cut the strips with some of those funky scissors. The great thing about this gift is you don’t have to have a crafty bone in your body, just the desire to tell someone how much you appreciate them! Enjoy
November 29th, 2007 at 8:55 am
There are millions of poor families in Asia who have no hope of making it out of the loop of poverty. You can change that by giving gifts in the name of Jesus to them such as pigs, chickens, cows, water buffalos, sewing machines and much more. Often these families are so overwhelmed by the tangible love of Jesus that changes their lives that they receive the Lord as their Savior. Here’s the website:
http://www.gfa.org . To see the Christmas catalogue, click the link at the top of the page.
December 7th, 2007 at 5:38 pm
[…] HT: Advent Conspiracy […]
December 9th, 2007 at 7:22 pm
TEAR Fund a Christian relief and development agency has a special gift for life catalogue. The catalogue is filled with gift ideas that benefit the poorest around the world. You purchase the ‘gift’ and receive a printed or e-card to give to family and friends whilst the poorest of the poor around the world receive the benefit of that gift. You can purchase pigs, goats, immunisations, wells for villages, dams for Niger, sanitation systems for poor communities. Make a real difference this year - think Gift for Life - www.giftforlife.co.nz.
December 10th, 2007 at 2:08 am
[…] The folks over at Advent Conspiracy are keeping a blog leading up to Christmas. In a post from a few days ago they include a list of very creative, relational gifts. They file their ideas […]
December 13th, 2007 at 2:34 pm
[…] Advent Conspiracy (I’ve mentioned them before) has a great list of relational gift […]
December 17th, 2007 at 1:36 am
Rorie…
Are you sure this is correct?…