I think gift giving divides into what I call order takers and dream fillers. Order takers want to provide something that the recipient specifically wants or needs, and that completes the 'transaction'. A subset of order takers just need to check off a gift from the list, and as long as it is an object or GC, check it done. For an order taker, gift cards are a godsend. No more running hither and yon trying to find X or Y, just pick up the card, load it and boom, mission accomplished. Dream fillers want to provide a gift that, as the saying goes, the recipient didn't know s/he wanted until it appeared. For dream fillers, the downside is trying to get into the minds of people to suss out just the perfect item. Not an easy task! For a dream filler, gift cards or cash completely negate the goal, and to boot they kill the dream by making it crystal clear just how much was spent on fulfilling the 'dream'. I used to be a dream filler--it was my perpetual goal to get the PERFECT gift for those on my list. However, as I've gotten older I have come to realize that as with much else in life you can't control or force anyone to feel, do or enjoy gifts no matter how carefully you try to pick something special. And of course gift cards as a product have exploded; you can literally give them for every and any product or service. What I do now is try to combine order taking and dream filling. So, for Christmas I paired a package of sugar free chocolate bars I special ordered for my diabetic dad with a GC for a movie theater. He and my stepmother will be facing an extended period of medical treatment out of town and my 'dream' is that they can have a night out at the movies as a respite, where he can snack on treats that aren't bad for him. I gave my sisters, all of whom like me are avid readers, each a pair of book-themed novelty socks packaged with an Amazon GC. Dream: they can order something they enjoy reading and peruse it wearing snazzy socks. Okay, that one is pretty light hearted dream filling but still, it's at least a start! And that's how I try to combine the practicality of gift cards with at least some attempt at creativity and personalization. Ann

I've shopped at a Purple Heart outlet ever since I went in by accident at Christmas about 15 years ago and saw the variety and price. A few years ago, my granddaughter had at 'thing' for dresses and her parents didn't have the $ to buy dressy dresses for her play time, so I went to the above outlet and picked up about 7 dresses, all priced under $3.oo each and each looked beautiful on her and no one was worried if she accidently spilled something on them. Three dresses were even worn to school on dress up day because they were so nice. I look the clothes over carefully, checking hems, pockets, buttons, and the end of sleeves for stains and tears. Quite a few couldn't have been worn over once or twice. One time when she was about 4 yrs old, I had found quite a few really good outfits there and gave them to her wrapped for her birthday which is the beginning of Oct.(she still needed quite a few winter outfits for nursery school). Everyone was exclaiming how beautiful they were(her parents knew where I had bought them)as she opened the multiple boxes. My daughter told everyone there that I had not bought them new, so people would not feel that I had outbought them on her presents and due to the fact that no one could tell they were used, no one felt it was inappropriate to give them. They were amazed at the quality and price paid. I buy jeans, coats and some nightgowns and blouses there for anywhere from $1.50 to $8.00 each. They have nothing missing and no tears,stains, etc.I only shop a regular store if I need something specific in style or undies,socks or shoes. Of course everything gets washed first. But I would never go back to paying $40.00 to $100.00 for a coat, when I can get one like new for $8.00!!

If you use curling ribbon, I think the larger spools (the kind used by balloon places) are your best bet--they cost several dollars to buy, but contain virtually a lifetime supply. I've got several different spools of different colors, have been using them for many many years, and I don't think I've ever used one up. Check for the little independent places--we have an independent dollar store that has great gift wrap, ribbon, etc. Theres another place thats only open about 4 days a week, that sells artificial flowers, paper/party goods, and whatever other odd lots of things they get their hands on--they have an entire aisle of ribbon by the yard at unbelievable prices. I think, if you look hard enough, you can find little places like that. Lots of time, rather than waste money on gift wrap and ribbo that will jsut be tossed after the gift is opened, I make fabric tote bags. Especially when I'm giving an afgan or child's quilt. That way the bag can be used over and over. For the same reason, when I'm using paper wrap, I lean toward paper gift bags--most people save them to reuse, so I figure they're much more worth the price than throw-away wrapping paper. Can't recall the last time I actually wrapped a gift with paper and scotch tape, actually.

I have the same dilemma. My mom had a childhood penpal and saved the letters. Some of that stuff is taking up a small amount of space so I just keep it around, but someday it will be trash. Ironically, I worked for a museum, and one minutes something is sitting in a box in storage, old carp that no one wants to look at, and the next minute it is a valuable time capsule for someone looking for details of that time and era. For example, I found a box of old school stuff that a teacher donated, bulletin boards and educational props, handouts, mimeo sheets, etc. that she used in her class. The kind of stuff I know teachers all over the country end up throwing out when they retire. She donated this box, and 100 years later, I was researching turn of the century educational materials to make some reproductions, and her box of old useless junk was now a goldmine. That's the rub. I'm interested in history, and I am APPALLED at how much stuff local history museums and archives just don't bother even scanning anymore, let alone saving. No one wants to bother with it. My local libraries history room routinely has stuff stolen since they can't invest in proper management and security. One local historian left his estate to the library and they had a historical collections manager for ten years with money from the bequest, but once it was used up, they have just let everything go. No one even on the staff anymore who has any training in history. I'm toying with getting a certificate in archiving. There are several colleges that offer online programs. As a lover of history, family or otherwise, I am just amazed at how little interest there is in such things anymore. I'm not suggesting you should save everything, but heck people throw out perfectly good clothing and furniture just because it is a few years old now. Not like Europe, where they have family stuff that is hundreds of years old in many attics still. I will say that the trend nowdays is to throw out the original stuff and save it digitally as scanned images. That's a bit of a mistake, in my mind, but again, can't fight "progress."