Christmas is the most expensive time of year for many people. This year it can be different. We should not feel guilty when we can’t afford to give gifts to those we love. But most of us are judged by the gifts we do give and especially if we don’t give a gift. To make this year a less stressful and more caring Christmas, give the gift of your TIME! This is an invaluable and non-renewable gift you can give. Let me explain.

Time is the one thing we can’t get back or buy more of. Unless you have repaired the flux capacitor (Google the movie Back to the Future…now moving pass my nerd moment)…you can create coupons as gifts. YES COUPONS! These are five of the best coupon gift ideas:

1. Create a coupon to visit a family member, loved one or even a stranger who is in a retirement home or confined to a bed. This could be for an hour a week for 4_weeks or an hour a month for the year. Let them know they aren’t forgotten and someone cares.
2. Create a coupon to participate in a race (5k, 10k, half marathon, iron man, etc.) for an organization or cause the giftee strongly supports. It could be race for the cure, YMCA domestic violence, cat rescue, etc. You can wear a shirt with the giftee’s name on it.
3. Create a coupon to volunteer at an event like Habitat for Humanity home building or sorting groceries at a food pantry for the giftee. This should be a cause the giftee believes in and supports.
4. Create a coupon for snow shoveling or raking leaves. This can be any physical activity the giftee can no longer do physically or afford to have someone do on a regular basis.
5. Create a coupon for babysitting or pet sitting. This can be for an hour a week or for a 3-5 hour monthly date night.

Bonus coupon – take the giftee on a trip down memory lane. Take some old pictures that you turn into a slide show. It will forever be a memorable moment.

If you don’t have a printer or want to add character to the gift, then make the coupons by hand and wrap them as you would any gift. You can have an expiration date or simply say “Expiration Date – Til The End of Time”. Most importantly Merry Christmas to you and yours!