We're coming up on a time of year that tends to be about buying a lot of 'stuff' cleverly camouflaged as gifts. Have you noticed that many of the gifts we exchange at Christmas just add to the piles of unnecessary things in our houses? This year, why not take a different approach to the Christmas wishlist? This idea is more economical because it calls on your skills instead of your wallet, it's better for our home because it doesn't bring in more 'stuff', and can potentially create more lasting memories as you work with your friends and family to accomplish something. Take a tour of your home and make a list of all the things you've been putting of or meaning to do - glue the leg on your dining room chair, replace those burnt out light bulbs, repaint the front door, swap out the kitchen faucet, take that load in the garage to goodwill. Then email the wishlist to your partner, friends and family and ask them for help with these things as your Christmas gift this year instead of 'stuff'. In turn, ask them to email their own wishlist - you might be surprised what they could use a hand with that you might find easy to do! How great would it be to start the new year with all those little things accomplished, and know that you helped out your friends, too!
Normally I clean my car, gutters and windows myself. It's one of those things I can do so I am too cheap to hire someone else to do it for me. But I HATE doing it - it's cold, wet, and messy. So last year, for Christmas, my family hired someone else to do this for me. My dad got my a gift certificate to detail the interior of my car (he's in Kentucky or he'd have done it himself), a friend's handyman-husband cleared the gutters, and Paneless Window Cleaning came and did the windows. Not only was it such a luxury, but they all did the job so much better than I ever had. These were gifts I really treasured and would not ever have purchased for myself.
Happy gifting!
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