A Gift that Will Keep on Giving

The biggest shopping day of the year is coming. Do you want to wake up at 4 AM, sit in traffic, wait in line, and fight off hundreds of other early birds for the best deals? I don’t either. That’s why I’m going to be giving handmade gifts to all my family and friends for Christmas.

Handmade gifts, whether you make them yourself or buy them from an artist, will last forever. Maybe not physically, but the memory of that particular Christmas will be talked about for years afterwards. Handmade gifts show that you really put thought into the purchasing process and wanted to give something totally unique to your loved ones.

Each handmade item has an individual personality – just like the person you’re shopping for. The artist who crafted the item put time, effort, love, and expertise into creating it. When you give a unique present, it says a lot about who you are as a person. It makes you stand out from the rest of the family members, who went and bought generic items from Macy’s or any other department store. A unique handmade gift gives you a more personal connection with the loved one you’re giving it too.

Buying handcrafted Christmas presents also stimulates small business, which makes up more than 90% of all business in America and provides many jobs for the working class. These small companies greatly appreciate your business and work harder for your satisfaction. Buying handmade goods from small firms increases the connection between business and consumer, and these businesses will probably recognize and remember you when you come back into their shop again. Customer service provided by individual artists and small companies is also more personal and often more effective.

Handmade goods tend to be more ‘green’ as well. Big businesses consume much more raw materials and natural resources than small companies. The complex hierarchy of large firms lessens the company’s awareness of the amounts of wastes they are using in order to manufacture products and run operations. Single artists or smaller firms are much more conscious of the impact their production is having on the environment. They attempt to manufacture goods by using the least amount of resources as possible and often utilize recycled materials.

So when you’re out shopping ( or avoiding getting trampled) on Black Friday, keep in mind that you could make a lasting memory, stimulate the economy, and help sustain the environment by purchasing handmade goods for your loved ones. You could avoid the mad rush at the mall in general by shopping at etsy.com or shophandmade.com , which are two popular marketplaces for handmade goods.

Remember, it’s not about how much you spend. It’s about giving a gift that will last forever. I hope you have a happy and safe holiday season!