Still shopping for the holidays?

If you are still looking for the perfect gift for someone, here's a cool suggestion I heard today! Buy them an experience instead of a gift!! This is not as hard as it sounds, actually. For example, practically everyone likes to go out to eat once in a while. So buying them a gift card for their favorite restaurant will be a great gift that will be appreciated long after the ornaments are put away.

If you don't know what their favorite restaurant is, you still have lots of options. Most towns in the US, big or small, have unique little mom and pop restaurants. Maybe there is a cool new ethnic place, or maybe they have a favorite steakhouse or taco grill that they always frequent. Giving your gift recipient a gift card to something local is a great idea for many reasons. First of all, you are giving the gift of a fun time out to your loved ones, so that will probably be appreciated. Second, they can use this either during the holidays or at any other time. Now with the new laws, gift cards don't expire very soon (they are good for at least 5 years in IL I believe), so your gift can keep giving for a long time. Third, this solves the problem of what to give to someone who has everything. Fourth, you will put money right back into the local economy. The owners of the restaurants will use that money for their needs, to pay their rent maybe or to shop at their local grocery store. Buy American, yay!!

One of the best things about giving restaurant gift cards as gifts is that you can do this for people you know well, as well as for people you barely know. If you have absolutely no clue what they would like, simply get them a card to restaurant.com or something else like that, and let them choose! Stress free and guilt free. That's what we all need, right!!

If not restaurants, you can choose other services or experiences. How about a local theatre or to the movies? Maybe a gift certificate for a hair cut, or even a mani or pedi? How about a grocery delivery service? Or a diaper service or maid service? Maybe a lawn mowing or snow removal service? So many options to pamper them and show them how much you care ....