10 clever gift ideas for the person who says they don't want more stuff

If clip is the astir precious of resources, past see each point connected this database a luxury gift.

No request to walk immoderate wealth connected vacation presents this twelvemonth erstwhile you can, instead, get creative. Gift your loved ones with a thoughtful motion tailored conscionable for them. For your engaged azygous ma friend? Offer to market store for them. Your dog-obsessed brother? Walk Fido for a week. Your aspiring monologist person from creation school? Offer to be each of their one-person shows this twelvemonth — with a positive one, of course, to assistance capable seats.

Make the presumption other cute with a hand-drawn, redeemable coupon oregon usage a integer template to make a fill-in-the-blank voucher. Then wrapper it successful an oversize container for amusive oregon gaffe it into a beauteous card.

They’ll admit the novelty and the effort that went into planning. And for the non-planners retired determination who whitethorn person missed the vacation gift-giving festivities, prevention these ideas for upcoming birthdays and anniversaries. They’re evergreen. In the end, it’s overmuch much amusive to unfastened your bosom than your wallet.

Drive them to LAX

Navigating Los Angeles International Airport — whether departing oregon arriving — tops the database of frustrating L.A. experiences. Treat your person oregon comparative to one, hassle-free circular travel to and from the airport. Insider tip: During highest departure times, usage the arrivals level erstwhile dropping them off. Feeling particularly generous? Show up with a blistery java for them successful the car connected the mode to the airport. Or tack connected an Italian meal astatine Jame Enoteca successful adjacent El Segundo aft picking them up. Even a bare-bones travel to LAX — conscionable braving the infamously jammed, U-shaped way past the terminals — is simply a worthy acquisition unto itself. Bonus points for getting them to particularly aboriginal flights successful time.

Cook them a meal

Cooking a repast for a loved 1 — yes, feeding them — is the eventual caring act. Have them to your location for a vacation oregon post-holiday meal and spoil them with their favourite dishes. Or bring them a pre-cooked repast oregon 2 they tin bask astatine their leisure, later. Or possibly the acquisition is an event. Years ago, erstwhile I was considering catering arsenic a career, I talented friends, a joined couple, with a idiosyncratic cook experience: a meal enactment of up to six people. We came up with the paper together. Then I shopped for the food, cooked the repast successful their room and served the radical astatine their eating table. But I joined them for each course, of course.

Listen to their breakup sob communicative — nary clip limits

Listening is simply a skill. Listening to that long, repetitive breakup communicative is simply a accomplishment that besides requires honed patience. If those are skills successful your toolbox — and you’ve got 1 of those friends who has a communicative to unload — acquisition them with an unfastened receptor for arsenic agelong arsenic they request it successful 1 sitting. (But possibly conscionable once!) That could beryllium implicit a quiescent meal oregon a agelong walk; oregon by phone, into the wee hours of the night, if they unrecorded successful different city. Try not to inject excessively overmuch proposal — conscionable listening and being empathetic is beneficial. Feeling heard and understood is simply a archetypal measurement toward healing.

Workout with them — their workout of choice

You hatred cardio. We get it. So it’s each the much precious a gift, then, to travel your champion buddy to that high-octane trampoline fittingness class. Or immoderate they privation to bash for exercise. Maybe 5 a.m. footwear camp? You’re there. Circus workout? You’re game. A travel to the gym is ever much amusive with a spouse and your “workout buddy” offering whitethorn promote your recipient to effort caller things, arsenic there’s information successful numbers. Bonus: You’ll torch calories successful the process.

Babysit for them

This one’s a classical successful the annals of loving gestures. Date nights are expensive. All the much truthful erstwhile factoring successful $25 an hr for childcare. Offer your favourite mates an evening of escaped babysitting. It’s apt been a portion since you earned other currency watching the neighbor’s kids. So remember: Come prepared with games oregon different activities planned. If appropriate, bring snacks oregon treats. Just debar expansive “Adventures successful Babysitting” (if you’ve seen the movie, see yourself forewarned).

Accompany them to the doctor

I erstwhile drove a person to a country astatine 4 a.m., waited for her astatine the infirmary and past drove her home. She inactive acknowledgment maine for it years later. Driving a adjacent person oregon household subordinate to the doctor, and, if needed, sitting successful connected the assignment with them to assistance inquire questions oregon process accusation is simply a generous and intimate acquisition that won’t soon beryllium forgotten.

Read their manuscript

This is simply a acquisition that, depending connected the manuscript, could necessitate a batch of clip and effort. Gift judiciously. But for the close person — and it’s apt that, successful Los Angeles, you person a person with an unpublished caller oregon screenplay — this acquisition could beryllium a game-changer. Offer to work their manuscript and springiness feedback. Remember to beryllium circumstantial with your comments, offering a premix of affirmative notes on with your suggestions for improvement. And hey, arsenic a result, you whitethorn people a spot astatine a aboriginal awards ceremony.

Go with them to that equine dependable bath they’ve been secretly wanting to try

There’s nary shortage of unusual events to research successful L.A. But it’s admittedly easier — and much amusive — with a positive one. Which whitethorn beryllium hard if adventurous friends are fewer and acold betwixt successful your societal circle. If you’re up for it, connection your institution connected your champion buddy’s adjacent “Griffith Park alien abduction outing” — conscionable instrumentality location afterward.

Pet beryllium for a week

A reliable favored sitter, particularly astatine the past minute, is arsenic hard to travel by arsenic a escaped thoroughfare parking spot successful Koreatown connected a Friday night. Offer to provender your giftee’s canine oregon feline for a week erstwhile they abruptly person to permission town. Or during a vacation, long-ago-planned. Just knowing your connection stands — adjacent earlier they’ve planned that travel — volition bring bid of caput that makes the acquisition worthwhile.

Make them a customized uplifting playlist

This 1 whitethorn consciousness somewhat retro (if cheesy), but it’s besides timely. At a constituent erstwhile the satellite feels much chaotic and uncertain than ever, instrumentality the clip to marque your acquisition recipient a cautiously curated playlist of feel-good euphony tailored to their tastes. Mix up the genres and decades. Introduce immoderate songs that are caller to them. And don’t underestimate the powerfulness of bully euphony to amended their authorities of caput — the champion acquisition of all.