With the rapid approach of the biggest holiday of the year, how many thousands of people are spending millions of dollars on gift giving?

Gift giving is not wrong. In fact, a giving heart is a character trait of God’s children. Giving gifts doesn’t automatically make one a Christian, but as God’s children, we will be giving people. Who doesn’t love kindhearted, generous people?

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. James 1:17

Our heavenly Father loves to bestow His children with abundant gifts. He is truly the best gift Giver there ever was or ever will be! He gave His absolute best gift when He sent His only begotten son into the world. Let’s never forget the sacrifice He made when He sent heaven’s best and allowed Him to die for us poor sinners! He’s done so much for us; can we not pass His love on to others?

It’s the lavish hoarding of things here in the ease of the American lifestyle that repulses me! When there are millions of people around the globe living without the bare necessities! Could we, instead of spending so much money on things nobody really needs, give that amount of money to go towards the needy around us or in other countries? The Lord sees your heart and will bless you for giving!

In today’s post, I would like to explore two methods of giving that will not break the bank and will not add more clutter into the life of the receiver. Far too many of the gifts given today are simply unnecessary gadgets, toys, etc that we don’t really need and only add clutter to our homes and lives (minimalism anyone?) Read on to find new ways of giving that will truly bless the lives of others!

Acts of Service

Acts of Service are small (or large) deeds of kindness that only require a loving heart and physical effort. They don’t break the bank and often times these gifts are far more appreciated than material items that are so often given. And don’t forget these are not limited to the holiday season; they can be done year round!

• Give someone a compliment.
• Give someone an encouraging card. Yes, take time to write it out and send it the old-fashioned way. Postal service still works!
• Bless someone with encouragement in a text message.
• Offer to take another person’s turn cleaning the church house.
• Bless a Mama by offering to babysit her children for a day or a couple hours. Not because she’s busy but because she’s a mama. (You won’t be turned down!)
• Make a list of things you appreciate about a person and give it to them.
• Offer to take the children to school for a busy family for a week or couple days.
• Clean windows for an elderly couple. (Or anyone!) Who wouldn’t enjoy clean windows without exerting the energy involved!
• Offer to babysit your minister’s children some evening so they can enjoy a date night. The hassle of lining up a sitter or feeling guilty for bothering someone is a real thing.
• Print or design (if you’re good with creative writing) a Bible verse on card stock. Bless someone with an inspiration to display in their home or work place.
• Bless someone with a casserole or main dish just because. Don’t procrastinate because you don’t have time to make a full meal. When you are preparing a meal for your family, just double the recipe and you have a gift ready for giving! You could even stick it in the freezer to give to someone at a later date. To make it more special, buy a pretty casserole dish to put it in and tell them it’s theirs to keep.

Consumable Gifts

Consumable gifts are a great way to gift someone with a tangible gift that does not create clutter or require storage for long term (ever think about that gift you got that you didn’t need so you put it in storage where you don’t even use or enjoy it? Minimalism anyone?!) Consumable gifts can often fulfill an immediate need in the life of the receiver. Again, these ideas are not limited to the holiday season, you can give them year round.

• Drop off a special drink for someone going through a difficult time, or just because
• A box of groceries for a family struggling financially
• Order pizza for a family and send it via pizza delivery or door dash. Have fun texting them that their supper will be delivered!
• Fill a gallon size ziploc with water bottle, gospel tracts, McDonald’s gift card, toothbrush and toothpaste, pair of socks, pair of gloves, granola bars etc. Keep these in your vehicle and pass out to the homeless beggars on the street corners.
• Give gift cards and/or cash to a family with a loved one in the hospital. It takes a lot of gas and food for being in and out of a hospital for an extended time.
• Another idea is to give a basket filled with easy mixes/quick meals and fun foods (for the children) if there’s a family member hospitalized.
• Ask a friend (or anyone you want to improve relationship with) to meet you for coffee/breakfast/ lunch to simply chat and listen to what’s going on in their lives. Then pay for their food.
• Give money or gift cards to a missionary family for use on their furlough.
• If you do your own butchering and have plenty of meat on hand, bless a needy family (or anyone) with a few pounds of fresh beef, sausage, or venison.
• Give money to pay a seamstress for new dresses (or sew them yourself) for a struggling or busy family
• Tell your neighbor to meet you at the gas station and you will pay to fill their tank.

Christmas Plates

Do you like to give your neighbors and friends a Christmas food plate? There’s already an endless supply of sweets and chocolates this time of year, so why not give something “outside the box”? Many elderly are diabetic or have special diets so keep that in mind and try to give accordingly.

• Basket of fresh fruit
• Jar of homemade granola
• Jar of homemade soup
• Jar of homemade (or boughten) relish or pepper jelly, along with a box of crackers
• Homemade bread or dinner rolls along with a jar of jam
• Jar of mixed nuts- although be considerate of the elderly or someone with false teeth. This will not be a good gift for them.
• Homemade casserole in foil pan
• Special spices – someone who enjoys cooking would love this!
• Body products such as sugar scrubs, soap bars, lip butters, bath bombs, etc. Homemade always makes it special, but if that’s not your thing, there are plenty of safe, clean body products available without the typical synthetics.
• Sweet tea, green tea, or iced coffee concentrate

The ideas in this post are collected from a couple different resources, with some of them my own experiences. But just to clarify, although I enjoy practical, consumable gifting, I’ve certainly not done all these. Just so nobody thinks I’m this astronomical giver!😂