'Tis the Season...

...but how the heck am I going to pay for it?! Well, cheap and/or homemade gifts don't have to be cliché and lame. If you truly put some thought into them, something that cost you $5 to put together could mean more than that shiny new PS3. Or at least Even Stevens.

Today is December 1st, and more or less the beginning of the Christian celebration of Advent. Advent has been non-religiousized over the years, however, when retail stores found they could market Advent calendars as a basic--and delicious--way to countdown to the big 25. Hanukkah and Kwanza and even the Winter Solstice are non-Christian ways to celebrate the season as well. What's my point? Well whatever your faith or nonfaith, for the next month, I'm going to celebrate a random "Ten Days of Holiday Cheer" (choosing "ten" because it rests gently between the 12 Days of Christmas and 8 Crazy Nights). In these upcoming ten posts, I'll discuss a fun, and hopefully less cliché, cheap and/or homemade holiday gift to unveil to your loved one (and again, all of these work just as well for brothers as they do boyfriends!)

I shall begin with...
Gift Number One: The Coupon Book.

Yes, this would be the lamest of the homemade gifts, but as I just suggested, it doesn't have to be if you put some personalized thought into it. Forget the coupons for backrubs, BJs, and bubble baths. Be creative! How about a free oil change?! Ok, not creative per se, but one gloomy Saturday afternoon at the next 5K mile mark, the love of your life may or may not find herself unemployed and that free oil change, while not necessarily the most romantic gesture in the world, could really help her out of a small jam. Or how about a coupon that states: "YOU make the coffee!" He's been dragging himself out of bed every morning for the past five years to make YOU coffee before work. Imagine the laughter in his eyes when you offer your coffee-making services for once!

Now here's a little secret: At the end of the day, what the Coupon Book REALLY does is influence a sense of empathy for the person you love. It allows you to, for a moment, walk a mile in his or her shoes and imagine the kinds of things that would make life a little easier. It encourages you think about ways in which you could help more--and because positives lead to more positives--vise verse. Because basically it all comes down to the little things in life. Sometimes the most seemingly unromantic gestures can totally make a person's day, week, month, or year! Whether it's doing the grocery shopping that week or offering a ride to work or school, it is kind and helpful, and that is always romantic. Coupon books can be funny little ways to say: Hey, I recognize that you do so much for me, so let me return the favor. Who knows? Maybe in time, you won't even need coupons at all ;)