Monday, December 5, 2016

Adult Children Gift Giving Ideas

While talking to a friend, she was telling me about all the creative gifts her parents give their kids for the holidays, their birthdays, or their weddings.  Well, this sparked a whole conversation about what kinds of gifts would be awesome to give or receive.

This is what we came up with:

1.     Money-who doesn’t love money

a.      Gift Card

b.     Stocks

c.      Retirement Contribution

d.     Prepaid credit cards

2.     Date Night (or a year’s worth of date nights)

a.      Babysitting (either babysit for them or pay for the babysitter)

b.     A gift certificate for dinner

c.      A Gift certificate for an activity

                                                    i.     Movies

                                                  ii.     Bowling

                                                iii.     Theater, concert or cultural event

                                                iv.     Sporting Event

                                                  v.     Classes (cooking, dancing, painting)

                                                vi.     Spa (couples massage)

d.     Buy tickets or gift certificates for sibling/couples date night to get the family together.  *possibly pay for babysitters.

e.      Overnight hotel getaway or bed and breakfast

3.     Season tickets to a theater or sporting event

4.     Family season passes to a museum or theme park

a.      Bus passes

5.     Vacations

a.      Family Reunion

6.     Your Favorite Things (Give a basket of your favorite things, might include: gift certificates, linens, books, movies, tools, food, electronics, etc.)

7.     Camera or picture printing

8.     Practical Gifts

a.      Emergency supplies

                                                    i.     Food Storage

1.     Canning Equipment

                                                  ii.     Freezer

                                                iii.     72hour kit

                                                iv.     Meat-buy a butchered cow, pig or chickens

                                                  v.     Caremergency kit

                                                vi.     Roadside assistance

                                               vii.     Case of toilet paper or paper towels

b.     Membership to Costco, Sam's Club, Amazon Prime, Etc.

c.      Winter supplies

                                                    i.     Coats, hats, boots, gloves, etc.

                                                  ii.     Sledding equipment

                                                iii.     Ski/snow boarding equipment

                                                iv.     Snowmobile equipment

                                                  v.     Snowblower or snow shovels

d.     Summer Supplies

                                                    i.     Grill, Smoker, Fire Pit, etc.

                                                  ii.     Fertilizer for the year

                                                iii.     Cooler

                                                iv.     Case of sunscreen

                                                  v.     Prescription sunglasses

                                                vi.     Beach supplies (shade canopy, beach chairs, cooler, etc.)

1.     Boating stuff, Paddle Boards, Kayaks.

                                               vii.     Swimming Pool

                                             viii.     Picnic supplies-basket, blanket, portable grill, etc.

                                                ix.     Life Jackets

                                                  x.     Bicycle helmets

                                                xi.     Shade umbrella to shade during kids soccer games, etc.

e.      Yard Equipment

                                                    i.     Ladder

                                                  ii.     Lawnmower

                                                iii.     Chainsaw

                                                iv.     Gardening tools or pay to have garden put in

                                                  v.     Pressure Washer

f.      Power tools

g.     Kitchen

                                                    i.     Appliances big and small

                                                  ii.     Replace pots and pans, knives, dishes, silverware, or glasses

h.     Cleaning Supplies

                                                    i.     Carpet Cleaner or vacuum

                                                  ii.     Steam Cleaner

                                                iii.     Laundry Basket full of laundry soap, fabric softener, bleach, etc.

                                                iv.     Bucket full of rubber gloves, sponges, scrubbers, chemicals, etc.

                                                  v.     Car washing supplies

i.       Paper Shredder

j.       Fire Proof Safe (Possibly filled with money)

k.     Gun Safe

l.       New Furniture or gift certificate for partial payment

m.   Camping Equipment

                                                    i.     Tent, sleeping bags, chairs, stove, cooler, firewood, etc.

9.     Pay For Services

a.      Carpet Cleaning

b.     Snow Removal

c.      Lawn mowing

d.     House cleaning

e.      Premade dinners

f.      House/deck painting

g.     Appliance tune ups

h.     Oil changes/Tire rotations

i.       Car washes

j.       Daycare services

k.     Dentist visits

l.       Equipment rentals

m.   Pay to have Christmas Lights hung

10.  Family Memorabilia

a.      Genealogy Books or Subscription

b.     Scrapbooks/Memory Book

c.      Family Heirlooms

d.     Family Cook Book

e.      Hand-Made Gifts (blankets, crafts, etc.)

f.      Box of childhood memories (pictures, toys, etc.)

g.     Something you did together when they were little

                                                    i.     Games you played

                                                  ii.     Supplies for food you made

                                                iii.     Tradition Supplies (ex. My husband’s family used to make Ukrainian eggs, so we bought a kit)

11.  Subscriptions

a.      Magazine

b.     Amazon Prime

c.      Netflix, Hulu Plus, Cable, etc.

d.     Satellite Radio

12.  Misc.

a.      Something your child borrows from you often.

b.     Something you think they would like, but they never knew they always wanted.

c.      Musical instruments like a piano

d.     New linens (bedding, towels, rugs, table clothes, etc.)

e.      Home improvement that child has been wanting anywhere from a new light fixture to a remodel.

f.      Movie Night (cozy blanket, popcorn maker and a movie or Streaming/cable subscription)


h.     Guest supplies

                                                    i.     Blow up air mattress

                                                  ii.     Extra bedding/Towels

                                                iii.     Folding Table and Chairs

We hope this list sparks some great gift giving ideas.

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