Extra Cash, in other words, Money.

Money is not so fun to unwrap, but any teenager will tell you that they would love extra cash. To make it fun to unwrap, you can put it in a great big box and watch them unwrap it. You can also stuff it in a balloon and blow it up. Another idea is to look online for origami patterns and fold the money into a shirt, tie or bird, then wrap it in a decorative box.

In this tough economy, any adult would appreciate certificates of deposit and savings bonds. CDs and savings bonds can be purchased at bank branches or online and, if saved, have the potential of eventually being worth more than you spent on them.

Lottery ticket.

Although usually only a dollar, there is the potential of more. It’s always fun to dream! If you need to bring a gift to an office party, this is one that everyone fights over.

Gift certificates.

How about a $5 gift certificate to a video rental store tied to a box of popcorn? Tying the gift certificate to a gift makes it a little more fun; however, for mailing purposes, a gift certificate is a great idea. Gift certificates can be limiting, but I was surprised to learn that my local mall offers a gift certificate which is good at all the stores and includes the movie theater and food court. Other fun gift certificate ideas are to a place like Baskin Robbins for the ice cream lover (could be attached to an ice cream scoop) or a Papa Murphy’s Pizza gift card (attached to a round pizza cutter or pizza stone.)

Subscriptions.

Subscriptions to their favorite magazine are a nice idea because they will remember you every month as the new magazine arrives. National Geographic would be great for the friend dreaming of a trip to Africa and National Geographic for kids is great for the little ones. Reader’s Digest is very popular among adults. Entertainment Weekly for your mother who watches everything the Stars do; Vanity Fair for your friend with the flair for fashion; you get the idea.

Themed gifts and baskets.

Gift Idea

Baskets can be bought at dollar stores, craft stores, even found in your garage. You can even use just saran wrap and forget the basket.

What fun to receive a basket full of fruit!

Have a friend saving to go Hawaii? Put together a box with a flower lay, macadamia nuts, a can of pineapple and maybe CD of Hawaiian music. (If it’s someone you love, you might want to include the tickets to Hawaii-but that might take a payday loan to pay for.)

How about a bird feeder and bird seed for the avid bird watcher? You could even make a bird feeder slathering a pine cone with peanut butter, roll it in birdseed and hang it from a ribbon. Be sure to have a box ready to drop it right into for wrapping.

Or for the baker, how about cake or cookie mix, frosting, cupcake holders and sprinkles tied with a bow and attach a cookie cutter?

My Italian mother would love a basket with special pasta from the refrigerator section, one of those specialty pasta sauces in the canned pasta section, Parmesan cheese, and one of those plastic pasta forks. I may even throw in a bottle of pickled peppers. My Italian mom would also love a trip to Italy, but then again, I’d have to take out a payday loan.

I think my sister would like a basket with a card game in it, like Uno, hot chocolate and marshmallows, and a box of popcorn so they can have a special family night.

I think I’ll make a breakfast basket for my friend who complains she never has time for breakfast: cereal bowls, Captain Crunch, Pop Tarts, pancake mix and syrup.

Candy.

Sees Chocolate is pretty well accepted as OK for anyone. And you can order online, have it sent, and it’s done. Chocolate covered cherries, fruitcake, divinity, chocolate kisses (mint flavored at Christmas). It’s all right at your grocery store for you to buy and wrap.

Photos.

All grandparents love photos of their children and grandchildren. Frames are relatively inexpensive, but you can even give the photo alone. Non-grandparents may not want photos of someone else’s kids, but my mother-in-law had a dog that she adored. We framed a photo of her dog for her and she loved it. Most photo places will now take your photo and turn it into a gift of some sort: a calendar, ornament, mug or mouse pad. You can even go online, upload your photo, order it and have it shipped.

Plants

You can always bring someone a poinsettia or indoor flower at this time of year. And there are Chia Pets, even an herb garden. Cut flowers make nice gifts too. No need to buy a vase, if you have a cupboard full of vases. Put a bouquet of cut flowers in a vase you already have, tie a ribbon and there you go.

For the kitchen.

There are some pretty fun things you can get for almost anyone for their kitchen.  There are crepe makers, waffle makers like you see at hotels, chocolate fountains, George Foreman grills with replaceable plates, donut makers, popcorn poppers, snow cone makers, juicers, milk shake machines, the list goes on and on.

Puzzles.

There are puzzles for every age, from 2 years to 99 (or more).  There are soft foamy ones for the little ones, thousand piece puzzles  for the big ones.  There is a puzzle that when completed, becomes a game.  There are 3-D puzzles.  There are puzzles that become globes.  You can’t lose with a puzzle.

I’m out of time.

Well, it’s time to get out there and shop. One quick minute and I’ll have an application for a payday loan completed online. A couple hours from now, the money will be in my bank account and I’ll be out shopping with this list. If you have other last-minute gift ideas, post them in the comments below so we can all help each other out. Have a great holiday season and a happy new year!

You can find the best bargains of the year on Black Friday at Wal-Mart, but it’s time to take a step back and reevaluate the real worth of flat screen TVs, tech gadgets, Hannah Montana gear, and payday loans. Saving money is a great thing, and shopping for sale and clearance items is one of the best ways to save money, especially if you are going to have to buy those items anyway. However, there are limits when it comes to saving money. If you steal a t-shirt instead of buying it, you are going to save money, but that’s not right either. The holiday season makes it easy to focus on material goods, and people get so caught up in the doorbuster deals of Black Friday that selfishness reigns supreme. It seems as though some shoppers in New York put the value of saving money over the value of human life.

Wal-Mart Worker’s Tragic Death

The Real Value of Doorbuster Deals

As previously mentioned, smart shopping and saving money are to be commended. If you can save a few hundred dollars on a flat-screen TV by getting to your local retailer earlier than the rest of the world, by all means, do it. If you can get tremendous deals on the many other must-haves of the holiday shopping season like TVs, tech toys, and Hannah Montana gear, you should. The less money you spend on holiday shopping this year, the better, but an outstanding Black Friday deal should not cause the loss of sanity, loss of money, and most importantly, the loss of life.

A Good Deal Isn’t Always a Good Deal

Black Friday sales have prices you can go crazy over, but that doesn’t mean you should lose all connections with reality. You hear about people getting in fights over the last item or, now, the man who was trampled under the herd of stampeding shoppers. Is a good bargain really worth getting in a fight? Payday loans can help you take advantage of  a  good bargain; it is definitely not worth killing someone. Those shoppers in New York were so wrapped up in getting their hands on the cheapest items, that they lost all sense of consideration and compassion. Customers continued to rush into the store while paramedics were trying to resuscitate the victim. It doesn’t sound like those TVs were such a great deal.

A good deal also isn’t a good if you can’t afford the sale price in the first place. If a flat screen TV is $500 dollars off, but still costs $1000 and you can’t afford it, it’s not a good deal. This holiday season is about living within your means. There’s no point in buying something that’s on sale, if you can’t afford to cover your usual monthly expenses. If you’re having trouble covering bills in between paychecks, you’ll realize that payday loans are a much better value than a discounted flat-screen TV.