The Tribune

By CARA HUNT

Tribune Features Writer

cbrennen@tribunemedia.net

Christmas can be a stressful time, especially if finances make it difficult to gift those special people in your life with a lovely present like you would wish to.

But it’s important not to focus on price tags, and instead remember that Christmas is a season for giving of yourself.

And with that in mind, a little creativity can go a long way in finding gifts from the heart that cost little to nothing.

Three of our Tribune Woman readers share with us presents that they have either given or received that spoke volumes and which came with a small price tag.

“This isn’t a Christmas present, but it’s a great idea. I love my grandmother’s cooking, and at my bridal shower last month she had given me this cookbook that she wrote herself with little notes beside each recipe to help me because I can’t cook. It was the best gift ever. I love it,” said Tia.

Lynette, meanwhile, likes taking the photographic route.

“I love the idea of enlarging a favourite photo, framing it, and giving it to people as a special keepsake,” she said.

“A lot of times people have a photo on their phone that they love, that maybe they say, ‘Oh, I want to print that’ , and they never do. Or maybe it’s like last year when we found a photo of my mother and her sisters from like 30 years ago and we printed it and gave it to the surviving sisters. It was nice. It is very inexpensive to print a photo and frames come in all budgets. We all have something that we can do that the people in our lives can appreciate.”

Thelma said she had to get creative last year because she had lost her job during the pandemic.

“I offered to clean my mom’s house several times and cook dinner for my sister and her family because she loves my crab and rice and baked stuffed fish, so I told her pick a day and I would make her and family that,” she said.

Here are a few other suggestions for gifts of time and service: offering to clean the car or yard for an elderly relative. This could also include painting or repairing something in their home, particularity if it is a service that otherwise would be costly.

Hair or make-up can also be expensive and so if you can do either, offering to help someone get glammed up for the season can be a great gift.

The gift of time can also be invaluable, whether it be running errands for someone or taking them out for Sunday drive and a beach picnic. The best gift is really the gift of yourself.