When I pulled out a new roll of toliet paper this morning, I got the idea about the things people give us that are useful and the things that are not.
Such as the toilet paper, now this is a very useful thing, in fact my sister had brought over an eight pack during thanksgiving, when we had a lot of people here. A month later I am profoundly touched by the ability to open my cupboard and find it there!
In these times when many are suffering financially, what are items that will be useful, and what are those items one would just as soon you not show up with? Many people are feeling complete and utter humiliation as they experience not having an income, and not being able to locate a job. Many do not want to let anyone know just how incredibly bad they have it and how scared they are. So lets just assume everyone is hurting and come up with some great gift items that will relieve some of their fear!
If your person drinks coffee, then consumables such as coffee, and filters and creamer may delight them to no end, and have them thinking nice thoughts about you every day until it is used up, and then some!
A hot water bottle! Oh yeah, especially if they are keeping their heat turned down or off when you are not there! You can fancy it up a bit by making a sleeve for it out of fabric, or knit one.
Vegetables for soup, along with a chunk of ham, or beef, or a chicken all wrapped up pretty with a bow can keep them eating at least one more day! If you happen to have some money, throw in a big bag of rice, and you will feed them for a week or a month!
Fresh fruit works too. We all need more nourishment in these hard times to keep us out of depression and thinking more clearly!
If they have pets, take notice of what type of food they feed, and drop off a bag or two. One note here is to make sure it IS the food they feed, many many dogs and cats have troubles digesting foods, and actually need special foods so they will not get sick.
Gas cards are always helpful especially if some has a car! Bus tokens if they use the bus system.
A gift card for a salon, in case they need a hair cut or some styling to give them an edge prior to applying for a job.
Dried staples or bagged that will last a while such beans, rice, nuts, raisins, oatmeal, cornmeal, dates are always useful to have on hand.
Onions, carrots, potatoes, and such usually last awhile and can be cooked up as soups, and stews.
Frozen meats, cheeses & vegetables are great if one has a freezer and electricity, or if you happen to live in a cold winter climate, where it can stay frozen on a porch or in a box outside.
If your person is a smoker, you could brighten their day with a pack of smokes!
Oh, how about some fun seasonings, these are things that can add enough flavor to a boring same type of dish that will make it all seem new again and maybe even exciting! Rice and beans can be pretty yucky, without some spice and hot peppers! Then it becomes an entire joyful blissful dish!
Well, there’s a few thoughts:-)
