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Now that we have made it through the holiday season, hopefully successfully avoiding January Credit Card Depression, I’d love to take a second to talk about gifts for strangers. There are two tacts that I would like to take with this post, one is hilarious and one is more serious.
First Up: Hilarious
I honestly can’t remember where I came across this, but this image is for sure a keeper.
That sounds like a super fantastic way to create some humour in the world. Why not give it a shot? You could send them to random unit numbers in a building you used to live in, just for grins :-) There are a lot of different things that you can use for entertainment’s sake. I would recommend avoiding sending food, unless it is from a reputable dealer. People are funny about things these days and a pack of gum that randomly showed up from a stranger might get tossed or treated as suspected drugs :-/
Instead, why not try the gold lame underpants, the inflatable beach ball, the tear off joke calendar or the quote magnet? A pair of flip flops works as regular mail in the United States, too!
Second Up: More Serious
Have you paid for someone’s coffee order yet? It’s really quite easy to do, especially if you are in a drive-through line. Simply ask the total of the person behind you (otherwise you might unwittingly be paying for an entire dance-class’s Tim Horton’s order!), then offer to pay for it. Done and done. Another way to do it, if you are in a line, is to give the cashier an extra $5 or $10 and tell them to use it until they run out!
Food banks and charities generally get a large amount of attention in the run-up to Christmas, but then as many people hit that January credit-card depression state, the donations taper right off. Unfortunately, that happens at the same time as demand for services increases. Now that you are starting out the year with a new budget, seriously consider adding in a regular monthly donation to a charity. Even if they are small value donations, having regular funds coming in the door is a huge plus to charitable organizations, allowing them to pay their bills and plan their year and spending a lot more accurately. It is also easier for your own budget if you plan in a smaller amount of giving all through the year, versus lump sums when the season comes around.
[Photo – Creative Commons Attribution – symphony of love]
