Book Spotlight: The Complete Guide to Creative Gift-Giving

Okay, here's the gift-giving book I promised to share with you yesterday after the disappointing book I read while I was sick in bed. It's The Complete Guide to Creative Gift-Giving by Cynthia Yates. I got it while I was a member of Crossings Book Club a few years ago. I have since found one at a thrift store for my mom, and I'm keeping my eyes out for more copies. It's that good!

This book is a treasure-trove of gift ideas that are low-cost or no-cost. And here are some ideas your elderly friends and relatives will actually use, too! (Unlike forcing something expensive on them, whether they like it or not, as the other book seems to imply.)

Some of the great ideas that come to mind for elderly people:

• a "bread of the month" club - You bake a loaf of homemade bread for them once a month over the course of the next year. This will only work if you're good at baking bread, though.
• a gift of time - Block out time to visit them regularly, just like you would an appointment with the doctor.
• a box of stationery with postage stamps (My aunt did this for my grandmother one year, and it was a HUGE hit!)

And there are many more ideas!

She also discusses ways to jazz up your packaging, what to get for kids, for religious occasions, for graduations and such, for Christmas, and an alphabetical listing of careers with gift suggestions and a magazine suggestion for each. Oh, and there's even an entire chapter devoted to gifts kids can make for adults. (Yes, they're gifts you'd actually use.)

This is another book that I would give 5 out of 5 stars.