Secret Santa Gifts

I was very young when I had my first experience with secret Santa gifts. I was in elementary school. It was an average winter with about two feet of snow on the ground. I was very exited, I loved the snow. Making gigantic snowmen, forts and the all-important snowball fight were all on the list of activities. There was just one problem that year, gloves. I know what you are thinking, but I did have gloves. My gloves were getting a little old, they were thin and had completely worn through in some spots. It would only take a few moments to soak the gloves and only moments later my hands would be very cold indeed. I had a difficult time reconciling my enjoyment of the winter months with that of frozen hands. Now we come to the part of the story where I experienced something that still brings a warmth to my heart. My class had been given an assignment to write a letter to Santa telling him what we would most want for Christmas. I wrote a very simple letter telling him that I would like a new pair of gloves because mine had holes in them and were very cold. The next day on my desk appeared brand new gloves. Think what you will, but the fact is that those gloves made my winter.

Secret Santa has, to me, always been geared toward those in need. This article will be geared the same way. This will take a little bit more work than just buying a gift and dropping it off. You will need to get to know at least a little about the recipients.

Food

Food could be the most important gift you could give this season. Food is something that anyone can use, and everyone needs. The best foods to give someone are non-perishables, or in other words canned and dry goods.

Dry goods are pastas, dried fruits, rice, powdered items like milk and eggs, ready to prepare meals, biscuit, muffin, cornbread, pancake,waffle, and bread mixes. These dry goods are the base of many meals. The mixes are very useful because they don't need much to make them. They are easy to make and you can make a little or a lot.

Canned goods such as vegetables, soups, milk, beans, and fruits. If you find yourself in the store staring at a seemingly endless wall of canned foods remember the following: keep it simple, is it healthy, and is it easy to prepare. Stick with the staple foods and buy in pairs(I don't know many recipes that can feed a family on one can).

Clothes

Clothes, another item that we all need(even if food is more important). I will talk about items of clothing in order of importance(at least in my opinion). First we have shoes, next would be outerwear(coats, gloves, scarfs, hats and the like), then inner-wear(shirts, pants, etc.), after that would be underwear. I am also going to add blankets to the list. I know that blankets are not clothing, but they are a textile, and important. When you go shopping for clothes try to take a friend or family member who is a similar size to the recipient, this can make sizing less of a shot in the dark. Younger children are normally sized by age. Also pay with cash and give the receipt with the gift. Paying with cash gives anonymity and still allows the recipient to exchange the clothing if they need to.

Shoes are at the top of the clothing list for good reason. The need for shoes becomes even more important in colder climates; think Washington's soldiers at Valley Forge. Imagine a day without shoes, it wouldn't be easy. Children outgrow shoes very quickly. Older children can be hard on their shoes. Adults usually wear their shoes out before they get new ones.

Gloves, coats, and hats are obvious choices for the cold areas of the country. They can make a difficult winter much better. The first thing that I would do is look in your closet, is there an extra coat or two that just hang there? Are they in good condition? If you said yes to those two questions then what are you waiting for? Find someone who could use the coat! The same could be said for the gloves, scarves, and hats.

Inner-wear is your shirts, pants, and skirts. When I say shirt I mean T-shirt, polo, button-up, sweater, etc. I think you get the gist. Most shirts can be more easily estimated for size. Shirts usually follow the small, medium, large pattern. Pants and skirts are a little more tricky to estimate. Again pay in cash and give the recipient the receipt.

Underwear should be obvious, but I am including socks and thermals in this category. Socks keep your feet warm and thermals keep your body warm. The head and feet are the two places we humans lose most of our heat. Good dry socks can help keep you warm on a cold day(make sure to wear a hat too).

Fleece blankets are wonderful to have, it is nice to curl up under one and read a good book. Fleece blankets are small easy to store, warm, and they are relatively inexpensive.

Toys

I don't know if you know the heartbreak of a parent not being able to get their children the basics or something to play with. I hope that you never do, but there are families every year in that situation. Children play, it's like a force of nature. It is part of growing up, much of a child's early learning will be in the form of playing(adults even learn through playing, even if we don't want to admit it). Toys don't need to be extravagant or flashy. Keep some simple things in mind when you look for something to gift in the toy category: simple, small, batteries not required. Please don't give someone in need a gift that will require that they buy batteries. If you must give electronics please give them a set of extra batteries(who knows how run-down the store batteries can be).

Young children don't need complex toys. I have often seen them play more with the box it came in than the toy itself(granted the box does not last). Simple with bright colors. Toy cars, pull toys, stacking toys, puzzles, etc. Older kids will prefer more complex toys such as boardgames, coloring books, books, tops, card games, yo-yos, marbles, etc.

Books

Books are one of my favorite things, the hours of enjoyment, and knowledge gained are wonderful. A good book can let you escape your worries or help you with them. DIY or do-it-yourself books can be a huge time & money saver. These books include anything that would normally require a shop or a pro to do. Things like automotive repair & maintenance, home repair/maintenance & upgrades, and gardening. Cookbooks are another wonderful thing to have, if you are giving someone a package of food think about adding a cookbook that specializes in low-cost meals.

Yard Work

Some forms of yard work can be done in "secret", but others would need the permission of the owner. Just stick to common sense; removing snow is not something that usually needs permission, but trimming hedges would. Yard work may not seem like a gift at first, but give me some time. If you live in the snowy parts of the world consider those of us who may not be able to shovel snow. The elderly, injured, or pregnant should not need to shovel snow. In the area I live it is not uncommon to have two, three or even four feet of snow during the year. That can be a back-breaking amount of snow, even for a star athlete. In this day and age of technology and machines we have a wonderful blessing, it's called a snow-blower, so if you own one, think about gifting a clear sidewalk. It would also be good to salt the walk after you have cleared it. In areas that do not get snow, there are other things that you can do, just keep you eyes open. Tree pruning, yard cleanup, lawn mowing. You could even organize the neighborhood to help clean or do maintenance on someone's yard or house.

Gift Cards

I have heard it said "when in doubt, gift card". I say gift card as a last resort. You may think that it will give someone the ability to get what they really need, but it is not useful until they go to the store and pick something out. That can be difficult for those who don't have a car(or have a car with no gas). Don't get me wrong, gift cards are very useful, but gift with great care. Don't give them a gift card to Radio Shack when what they really need is food. Also look at items they would need and put at least that much on the card. It would not help if the card could only buy half of what they need, they might not have the finances to purchase the other half.

Thank you for giving a secret Santa to those in need. It will make their winter much better, and you will find that yours will have improved too.