Debt-Free for the Holidays: Gifts That Keep on Giving

A Picture in a Frame

Michelle and I have been friends for years.  It was hard to believe that her oldest son (let’s call him Jack) was 13 and standing on stage at the temple for his Bar Mitzvah.  Time flies.  During the reception we pulled out our phones at different times to capture the moment.  Group pictures, pictures with old friends and family, funny poses, and happy moments.

As I watched the montage of Jack’s life at the reception, I asked myself, “Where are the pictures I took when we all went to the beach, what about the air show or the 3-mile walk for autism?  In my old Blackberry? My ‘real’ digital camera? Did I buy a disposable camera back then?  Where are those pictures?  Maybe on my first iPhone.  That would put them in the cloud.  That’s good.  Wait, didn’t I download my old pictures onto my laptop so I wouldn’t need more cloud storage?  Hold on, maybe I transferred those pictures to the camera roll on my new iPhone…”  Who knows where those pictures might be.

• What if we organized our pictures?

• What if we selected memorable pictures and put them in a frame?

• What if we took three pictures from our collections of each person in our life that we care about, printed them on photo paper or actually had them professionally developed, and put them in a frame as a gift for the holidays?

• What if we included a note that let the person know how much we love and care about them and the difference they have made in our life?

• What if our gift reflected our love?  That would be a gift that would keep on giving.  Look for creative ways to express your love this holiday season without going into debt and have fun doing it!