Gifts to Gut the Gloom

The activity of gifting is quite perplexing these days, owing to the recession glaring into our faces. So how to gift meaningful gifts in these trying times? themoneytimes.com tries to answer just that for you.

The times ahead, it is being said, are going to be even more difficult and gloomy. Under such adverse circumstances, when people are rather devising ways to cut down their spending, here’s what your plan of action should include to still meet the birthday, anniversary and Christmas demands.

These gift ideas could surely be of immense value in giving your friends and relatives a little lift when things around them start to look gloomy.

Sewing Kit

It is not easy to discard clothes in times of an economic crunch. It pinches harder when you are required to bid good bye to your favorite coat or evening gown, suffering minor repair, that had almost cost you a fortune and you secretly know that another one is not coming too soon.

For this reason, many become interested in stitching. A sewing kit complete with an assortment of needles, stitching and embroidery threads, scissors and ribbons could make a great gift that your friends will always remember you for. It can also be turned into an astoundingly fulfilling pass time.

Chocolates with a difference

Chocolates, especially the dark, assorted ones, make an all time favorite gifts. But, to add your signature and style to doubly ensure that the gift is cherished for a life time, present a chocolate fondue maker or a chocolate brownie sizzler tray accompanied by related recipes.

Home Entertainment to Raise your Spirits

Movie DVDs can make great gifts for movie buff. Just make sure that the movies end on an optimistic note and help generate a feel good factor at the end. The recent, ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ could be one such movie on your list.

Or else you could also gift classic comedies. Tickling a rib or two is can assist in turning one’s pessimism into hope. Fun songs too can be immensely beneficial in lifting up your spirits.

If your pocket allows a little more expenditure, an iPod is one of the best bets that you can lay your hands on. Only don’t forget to load it with the choicest of songs that are fun to listen to.

Gardening Equipments

If the recipient has a garden, or a sizable balcony, or better still, resides in a pent house, what better could you gift than a set of gardening equipments? Gardening happens to be a hobby which is absolutely recession proof and also instills an immense sense of achievement. Maintaining your own vegetable garden can cut down your grocery bills to a large extent.

A set of gardening gloves and a bunch of lily bulbs or a bonsai kit are ideas that can never fail appreciation. Simply ensure that the recipient has space to practice gardening or else the gift will come as a big practical joke.

Games for Fun and Frolic

Games bring out the child in all of us. The phrase, ‘we have all stopped living, we simply exist’ may be a cliché, but that doesn’t stop it from being the reality of our lives.

An assortment of popular games including ‘monopoly’, ‘snakes and ladders’ and other board games that could be enjoyed by the entire family providing them more opportunities to have a good time together. While gambling is a terrible alternative, these games are capable of giving all the fun associated with gambling but with no guilt attached.

Wine

Plenty of bottles of some good wine is the best remedy to drink away all the pain associated with frugality; at least, the recipient wouldn’t have to be thrifty with respect to indulgence in wine. Wine can help keep both the health and spirits high as well.

Economic researchers are guesstimating that the ‘Bad Times’ are in fact now, for the world has never seen a worst bear market. So, what ever the future might hold, it will definitely be better than the present. On that positive note, let’s hope of receiving better gifts this year!