[mndy]

The last couple of years I've made the decision to stop buying "things" for Christmas as much as I possibly can and start buying "experiences." I just feel like so many things are only hot for a minute or don't live up to the hype and figured it would not only be easier on the planet and our environment but that it would offer something of more lasting value.

So, with that in mind I've bought gift certificates for virtually everyone on my list in the following areas.

For the girls, trips to the spa/salon. Either massages or mani/pedis depending on the individual. I've found that this is well received by girls and women. There are plenty of men who appreciate this as well. Particularly professional men and a manicure at a nice salon.

For couples, I've purchased gift certificates at their favorite restaurant. This works well for people you are particularly close with but I've done this in the past for people who live in other areas and just researched reviews and restaurants in their areas and I've been successful. This is especially nice for parents as it also gives the gift of a "night out" for mom and dad.

For the teens, gamefly.com gift certificates. It's a service where kids can rent all the new video games for all the different systems instead of having to buy them. Anyone who's got kids who play video games knows how expensive these things are to buy so this is a nice gift to your pocketbook too. Not to mention the lack of clutter. It's set up just like netflix is, it's just video games instead of movies. Kids can keep what they rent as long as they like and send it back when they're done and get the next game in their game list. And a nice perk is that the account can be set up with parental controls to keep the mature stuff out of their hands. It's a great, inexpensive way to give teens on your list something they want that will allow them to choose what they get. You'll win major "cool" points for this one too. You can buy them for anywhere from one month to a year and they/you can choose to contine the service once the gift certificate period is completed.

Speaking of netflix... I bought my mom a membership there last year and she absolutely adored it. This one is probably not as easy to give anymore as most people use it already but it's a great one if you know someone who doesn't already have it.

The idea is to avoid "things" that clutter up the house or eventually end up in a landfill. While there is always something of a material nature to be given at some point to someone I really try to give gifts of a more experiential nature.

Any new suggestions or thoughts in this vein are most welcome!