Holiday Gift Ideas for Community Members

Some people are hard to buy for while others are very easy. Here are a few tips on buying gifts that will appreciate as opposed to becoming next years yard sale items. And with everyones budgets just a bit tighter this year, here are some great ideas to save you time and money while giving great gifts that will be appreciated.

Buy items that are consumable. Things that can be used in every day life or all year long. Magazine subscriptions can be purchased at very reasonable rates online. For as little at $5 you can give a subscription to a magazine that will last all year long. For people who love to write, you can do stationary, envelopes, greeting cards or even some forever stamps. Just a few minutes of thought and you will come up with a variety of ideas for any given person.

Family and friends you probably have a handle on and can find something that they love and can use. But what about other people in our lives? Our children's teachers and daycare workers, our mailman and newspaper delivery people who get out in all weather to make sure we get our mail and newspapers? The wait staff at our favorite restuarant, or even our stylist at our favorite beauty salon? These are the tricky people.

Teachers would appreciate a gift certificate to a local teacher store or even an office supply store. Another idea is to buy books to give to the classroom. If you are a super thrifty person and can find school supplies at rock bottom discount prices, put a bunch of items in a container. Great items can be found at Dollar Tree and other discount stores.

Daycare workers would also appreciate things for their classroom. Board books, wooden puzzles, color books, crayons and age appropriate educational toys are great items to give your daycare/preschool teachers. We know toys wear out and books get read a thousand times. New items are always great to have.

Scout Leaders would appreciate gift certificates to craft stores or even their local council shop. If there is something your scout leader loves to do, like camping, maybe even let your child decorate a bandana for the leader. No matter if you are a Girl Scout or a Boy Scout - they both know 101 different ways to use bandanas.

Secretaries and other people in our communities that we build friendships with over the year are people who make our lives a bit easier everyday. We feel compelled to give them something to show them we appreciate them. For these people a nice card, even a handmade holiday card is nice and shows them that we do appreciate them and all of their hard work all year long. Along with the card you can add some nice holiday candies.

Hair Stylists are a bit harder. But giving them an extra $10 or $20 tip would make their day. If you don't like to just give cash, consider getting them a gift certificate to either a beauty supply store or maybe even a restaurant.

USPS employees are not able to accept any form of cash or checks. So your best bet with them is a gift certificate. Other ideas would be gloves, earmuffs or even hand warmers. If you get regular visits from your UPS or FEDEX person, you can consider the same ideas for them too.

Try to stay away from homemade food items. You may feel that you have a good friendship with a person, but they may not feel the same way and your efforts will hit the trash can. It's ashame that our world had turned to not being able to trust people, but it is what it is. If you want to give food as a gift, make sure it is prepackaged. To make it a little more budget friendly, buy only candy or foods that are individually wrapped and put them in smaller bags or containers.