Searching for the perfect gift can be a chore, particularly when shopping for someone who has everything.
There is no question that times have changed and expectations become different as the decades pass. Now, shopping and extras are a regular occurrence in many homes. As we are reminded regularly, many of our attitudes are out of date with today’s faster pace of living.
That, of course, is part of the consumerism mentality that has caused rising personal debt and the unrelenting drive for cheaper production costs so even more people can afford extras.
The two extremes to that circumstance we see are the young and the elderly. For many kids, stuffed toys and trinkets fill their toy boxes and the nooks and crannies of their bedrooms. As the next craze hits on the list of must-haves, many of those toys they had to have, find their way to the Op-shop or the dump.
The great conundrum for parents, then, is to teach the value of money while at the same time meeting the needs young ones have to be part of a class culture. It’s a tough battle. For grandparents, who are presumably well established and living in their golden years, their needs are limited in terms of “stuff.” It seems the larger the family, the more acute the problem.
New ideas are needed and a little girl by the name of Avery may have found a winner. Although time precluded a full story, this five-year-old decided for her birthday party she would ask guests to make a donation to the local food bank. What a great idea – a new and generous take on gift giving and receiving.
