Look for gifts wherever you find yourself, from a bazaar in Morocco to a tag sale in Duluth.
Step2
Go beyond the museum gift shop and explore possibilities such as painting lessons, art history courses or a gift certificate for a docent-led private tour.
Step3
Use the Internet. Follow links until you find what you want. For example, start with papermaking, go to papermaking supplies, and ultimately you may find an apprenticeship with an Irish papermaker near your hometown.
Step4
Talk to craftspeople who make one-of-a-kind pieces.
Step5
Track down items such as rare prints, out-of-print books or antiques on Internet auction sites or in chat rooms.
Step6
Search unusual catalogs. Find companies online and have a catalog sent to you.
Step7
Give a welcome service. A massage, baby-sitting time, pet-sitting, custom makeovers, a day at the spa or a chef's services will be welcome gifts.
Step8
Combine one or two things for a spectacular effect. That picture frame you bought in New Mexico might provide the perfect background for showing off that stamp collection you bought at an estate sale in Guam.
Step9
Make something. Bake, knit, sew, or make candles, crafts or fudge.
Step10
Cruise art supply stores, craft shops, art galleries and factory stores for ideas.
Tips & Warnings
If you find out what the recipient likes to do, collect or read, you'll have a head start on a great gift.
on 7/16/2006
Find really random, but still useful gifts. My group of friends have a tradition where whenever a birthday rolls around, the rest of us go and get a random joined present. The last things we got were an orange foot mat (in the shape of a foot) and a bright pink straw hat. You can have a great laugh, and sometimes really nifty. Search in $2 shops for the best.
on 3/15/2006
We had a digital artist make our friends a keepsake of our trip to the Caribbean. She took all our favorite photos from on board the Amorazur, and put them together in a fantastic way (even taking a more attractive face off one picture, and putting it on the same woman's body in another - genius!). Our friends went ballistic; they absolutely loved the gift!
on 11/22/2005
Look in your area for a Fair Trade store. There are many out there but most don't have websites, so you might have to ask around. These stores sell handmade goods from impoverished countries and the artisans recieve fair wages. Many of the stores provide gift cards so that the person who recieves the gift sees that your gift wasn't just to that person, but also to an unknown artisan far away.
on 11/22/2005
We all receive them--those cute photos of your friends' children and distant relatives that come in the mail every year with holiday cards.
Now, what to do with them? Don't throw them out!
Purchase several inexpensive photos albums from the Dollar Store or other discount store, one for each family that sends photos every year. Place each year's photos in the album, one year per page. Discount photo albums don't have many pages, so your album will be full in just a few years. If you're crafty, you can also decorate the album page around the photo with the year of the photo and/or some other holiday images.
Once the album is full, wrap it up and give it to the person who sent you all those photos over the years as a gift. Now, aren't you thoughtful!
Comments
Anonymous said
on 7/16/2006 Find really random, but still useful gifts. My group of friends have a tradition where whenever a birthday rolls around, the rest of us go and get a random joined present. The last things we got were an orange foot mat (in the shape of a foot) and a bright pink straw hat. You can have a great laugh, and sometimes really nifty. Search in $2 shops for the best.
Anonymous said
on 3/15/2006 We had a digital artist make our friends a keepsake of our trip to the Caribbean. She took all our favorite photos from on board the Amorazur, and put them together in a fantastic way (even taking a more attractive face off one picture, and putting it on the same woman's body in another - genius!). Our friends went ballistic; they absolutely loved the gift!
Anonymous said
on 2/25/2006 Thrift Stores finds are amazing. Also, anything from a foreign country makes an amazing gift.
Anonymous said
on 11/22/2005 Look in your area for a Fair Trade store. There are many out there but most don't have websites, so you might have to ask around. These stores sell handmade goods from impoverished countries and the artisans recieve fair wages. Many of the stores provide gift cards so that the person who recieves the gift sees that your gift wasn't just to that person, but also to an unknown artisan far away.
Anonymous said
on 11/22/2005 We all receive them--those cute photos of your friends' children and distant relatives that come in the mail every year with holiday cards.
Now, what to do with them? Don't throw them out!
Purchase several inexpensive photos albums from the Dollar Store or other discount store, one for each family that sends photos every year. Place each year's photos in the album, one year per page. Discount photo albums don't have many pages, so your album will be full in just a few years. If you're crafty, you can also decorate the album page around the photo with the year of the photo and/or some other holiday images.
Once the album is full, wrap it up and give it to the person who sent you all those photos over the years as a gift. Now, aren't you thoughtful!