How to Give Memorable Gifts

This gift-giving occasion, give a gift that's worth remembering by moving away from the more traditional choices and going with something a little more abstract. Friends, family, co-workers and even bosses enjoy gifts that are both thoughtful and engaging. These gift ideas are sure to satisfy, whether your recipient is 9 or 109.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Surprise someone with a Netflix gift membership. Netflix is a fun and easy-to-use online movie service with more than 100,000 DVD titles available, as well as 10,000 movies that you can watch instantly on your computer. Shipping to and from Netflix is free, and most titles arrive within one business day. With gift memberships available in durations as short as one month to as long as a year, a Netflix gift membership makes for a great gift for anyone with an Internet connection and a love for movies.

2. Name a star after someone. It's fun, it's romantic, and it definitely shows a certain amount of creativity in gift-giving. The International Star Registry is the original name-a-star service, but there are literally dozens of similar companies with different options for extras. For the thrifty star-namer, there is Free Name a Star, who let's you register your star's new name, albeit without all the bells and whistles.

3. Give a gift membership to the Arbor Day Foundation. Memberships are inexpensive, come with 10 free saplings, and can be upgraded to include the bi-monthly publication "Library of Trees." This is a great gift for an environmentalist in your life or anyone who appreciates the beauty of trees.

4. Support wildlife conservation by "adopting" an animal. Wildlife Adoption and World Wildlife Fund are two of the best sites, offering many different choices of animals. For a contribution to the animal's conservation fund, you can get an "adoption kit" with a mini-plush of your chosen animal complete with certificate of adoption. This gift is a big hit with kids and animal lovers alike.

5. Show you care with a Kiva gift certificate. Kiva is the world's first person-to-person micro-lending website, meaning that you can make a loan as small as $25 to an entrepreneur in an impoverished country and track their progress as they pay it back. A gift certificate allows the recipient to choose their entrepreneur and be involved in this amazing experience.

6. Give a gift card to Heifer International. Heifer International is an organization that gives the gift of livestock to impoverished families around the world, going beyond just charity to allow families to create a sustainable income for themselves. Heifer's "pass on the gift" policy requires each livestock recipient to pass on one or more of their animal's offspring to another needy family. This is a great gift for those who love to help others, and you can feel great knowing that your gift will continue to help more and more families in need.

Resources

• International Star Registry: Name a Star
• The Arbor Day Foundation: Gift Memberships
• World Wildlife Fund Gift Center: Adoptions
• Kiva: Loans That Change Lives
• Heifer International

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