Call us Scrooges if you must, but we’re not ashamed to say that giving prudent, responsible Christmas gifts is better than putting the coolest, slickest and trendiest gadgets under the tree. While other publications’ gift guides are full of electric cat massagers, solar powered duffel bags, and ostrich skin money belts, we at ConsumersAdvocate.org have assembled the season’s most sensible gift guide. Long after many of those really cool Christmas gifts have been donated to a thrift shop or pitched in a landfill, the presents we suggest will still be helping your loved ones.
Home security systems, anti-virus software, lawn care services, medical alerts, and insurance products might not get everyone rocking around the Christmas tree, but they are what (almost) everyone needs. Think of those products like socks and underwear: you’re not exactly thrilled to receive them on the morning of December 25, but they’re appreciated long after you’ve taken the Christmas tree down.
Choosing the most finically responsible Christmas presents from the 115 categories of products we review on our site was tough – but we’re used to making tough choices. How did we do it? Simple: we chose things what will benefit the people you give them to for months and years to come.
CAUTION: giving any of these gifts may disappoint your friends and family, at least in the short term. If you give one of our recommended gifts to your significant other, you may become known as the least romantic person in town. In some cases, you may even find yourself sleeping alone. But maybe one day, the recipients of these gifts will thank you – in a quietly understated and responsible way.
Ready to embrace the virtues of sensible holiday gifting? Here goes.
1. Life insurance is the ultimate in responsible Christmas presents. It’s one of the few things in the world that you buy for yourself but that’s solely for the benefit of others. Imagine the reaction of your spouse and children when they open an envelope on Christmas morning and discover that they’ve been named as a beneficiary in your legacy plan policy. They’ll be thrilled! Not. But on the off chance that your number comes up, your family will remember you as someone who was maybe a little boring—but who was also generous, prudent, and wise.
2. Medical alerts should be a part of everyone’s responsible Christmas wish list. They can be a tough sell, though. Who wants to think about being so alone and infirm that you need to have a “help button” to push 24/7? Who wants to dwell on the mortal consequences of “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up”? But that’s exactly why there are probably some people in your family or friend circle who need them. When the person you give a life saving medical device to has to press the help button for the first time, you’ll be hailed as a lifesaver—not the exciting kind who rescues people from burning buildings or foils terrorist attacks, but a sensible and considerate lifesaver nonetheless.
3. For anyone whose taxes are more complicated than reporting wages on a 1040EZ, tax prep software is a great present. It may well save money—and it certainly saves frustration. Giving it as a Christmas present isn’t exactly traditional, but it’s as prudent as all get out. Come springtime, when the people you gave a tax preparedness program to are long done with their returns, and everyone else is playing Beat the Clock as April 15 closes in, your gift will be appreciated. Maybe the recipient of your gift will even take you out to dinner when they get their larger-than-expected tax refund.
4. Last Christmas, one of our colleagues gave his girlfriend a pet insurance policy for her beloved cat, Kiwi. A few months later, poor Kiwi developed a serious thyroid condition that required some expensive treatment. The cost of the veterinary care was substantially covered by the insurance company. Our colleague’s girlfriend was so grateful that she declared the pet insurance policy the best Christmas present she’d ever received and soon after proposed marriage. These exciting results are not typical; in fact, most people who receive four-legged family coverage in their Christmas stocking will open it up, read it, give you a quizzical look, and say, “Uh… gee, thanks.” But pets are family, so making sure that you can afford to take care of them is the responsible thing for them, as well as for your pocketbook.
5. Lawn care service makes a great prudent present. This time of year, most lawn care companies are not exactly busy. And some of them offer discounts for people who sign up early for the following spring. In a few months, when everyone else is trying unsuccessfully to get a lawn service on the phone, the person who received your gift of yard maintenance will be watching as their bushes are raked out, as the lawn comes up green, and as the shrubbery is manicured to topiary perfection.
6. Very few people have ever given car insurance as a Christmas present. Most people think car insurance is about as exciting as watching billboards fade. There’s probably a connection between these two facts. But for a lot of people, getting a paid-up car insurance policy could be the gift that keeps on giving. Having a car is all but essential in many parts of the country—and car insurance is mandatory almost everywhere. The cost of insurance can be a heavy burden, especially for a younger family member. So yeah, automobile coverage is a little on the dull side as a Christmas present, but gifting it to a loved one will help him or her do far more exciting things—like go to college or get a job.
7. “A home security system! Thanks honey. I love it!” . . . said no one on Christmas day ever. Maybe that’s because home security systems are actively designed to prevent anything exciting (like a fire or robbery) from happening to you. But that’s a good thing; sometimes boring is better. And if you’ve got a houseful of expensive gadgets and luxury items from Christmas past, doesn’t it make sense to protect them?
8. Anti-virus software is one of those quietly responsible apps that run on your computer or smartphone and that you never have to think about. It does its job in the background and a lot of times you’ll probably forget you have it. But that shiny new PC you just got for someone in your family could be turned into a shiny new paperweight in a matter of months if it gets gummed up with malware, viruses, and adware. So if you give someone you love a new phone, laptop, or tablet, be a sensible hero and get a software protection program as a stocking-stuffer.