This year is the perfect year to give gifts that are rich with meaning. If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s about the value of our close relationships, our communities, and living by our values. Therefore, you want to give gifts that align with all of that. You can also take small actions when giving any gifts at all that will magnify their beneficial impact on the world. With a reverberating impact over time, here are five holiday gifts that would last a lifetime:
1. Participate in the DAV Spare Change Program
Disabled American Veterans (DAV) has a great new program called the DAV Spare Change Program. The idea is that as you do your holiday shopping, each sale rounds up to the nearest dollar. That “spare change” gets donated to help support veterans.
Basically, you link your credit card to the program. Then every time you use that credit card, the “spare change” goes to the program. It’s easy to enroll and participate. Every single gift you purchase can also go to support veterans in this way.
Helping veterans is especially important at the holidays. Many of them missed out on holidays with their own families over the years. This is a special reminder for them that it wasn’t without purpose. And you’d be surprised how much small change makes a big impact.
2. Donate to Charity in Someone’s Name
Many of your friends and family might not want or expect tangible gifts this year. After all, a lot of people don’t have extra money this year. They don’t want to feel obligated to give you a gift in return, so they’d rather you just not gift them anything.
However, a great compromise is to help them help others. They may not be able to donate to a charity that they care about this year. When you donate to the charity in their name, it allows them to give in this way. Furthermore, it shows that you care about and support the causes that mean a lot to them.
3. Start a New Holiday Tradition
Rituals and routines enhance the beauty and meaning of holidays. You probably already have traditions that you use in your family. Perhaps this is a good year to also start a new tradition. You might do something simple such as making your own holiday decorations.
Alternatively, you might find a cause that the family cares about and create a tradition around supporting it. For example, if you care about the aforementioned veterans’ issues, then you might find a way to create a tradition such as “adopt a veteran for the holidays.” In other words, if there’s a veteran in your area in need, you and your family might make them a holiday meal as your new tradition.
4. Invest in Someone’s Education
Education is a gift that lasts a lifetime. And obviously it’s something that’s challenging to pay for, especially when you get into higher education. Therefore, you might want to consider giving the gift of education.
There are two different ways that you might approach this:
- Start a college savings account for someone that you know. You could gift education to an individual in your family or among your acquaintances.
- Give the gift of education to people in need worldwide. Search for non-profit organizations that help people (especially girls and women) get access to education around the world.
5. Give a Gift That Saves The Recipient Money
There are so many gifts that you can give that help people save on their own costs. For example, you could offer to be someone’s babysitter or petsitter. It might sound like a small thing. However, giving someone that break so that they can focus on their mental heath or improving their relationship without worrying about the cost of a sitter can make a lifelong impact on their quality of living.
2020 hasn’t been a regular year. But there are some silver linings. We can do small things that help bring about big changes in the world around us. Therefore, consider donating your spare change to a veteran or investing in someone’s education as a holiday gift this year.
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SavingAdvice.com in partnership with DAV
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