Holiday Gift Thoughts from Abby
Media Services
Walnut, MS
Around this time of year, most of us inexplicably lose our minds when it comes to answering the dreaded question: "Well, what do you want for Christmas this year?"
We typically either babble on incessantly about something that is completely unrealistic when it comes to budgetary restraints or even worse, we go COMPLETELY blank. Not a word and not a clue.
So for your benefit, we've pieced together a list of four suggestions that we hope can help you navigate this time of year that is the holiday season.
1. "A picture is worth…:" Well, you know where this is headed. However, this can still be a great idea this time of year while being easy on the wallet. Every outdoorsman has their favorite pictures and every discount retailer has an aisle full of inexpensive frames. See if you can get your hands on negatives or digital files and frame a shot or two that your friend or family member would like to display at work or in their game room.
2. Pot-Luck: Have a group of friends and/or family members come over and bring their favorite wildlife dish with the recipe written on about a dozen index cards. Then you can supply a couple of appropriate side-dishes, some non-alcoholic beverages and an envelope for each guest to be able to take home all of the recipes. You can tell everyone that's the gathering is your gift to them and you get out relatively unscathed in regard to your wallet AND they have a holiday gathering at the same time!
3. Sign 'Em Up: Here's a lay-up. Most everybody has either a group they'd like to join or a periodical they'd like to receive. The reality, however, is that a lot of us simply never "come off-of the dough." So either sign them up for membership to something like QDMA (Quality Deer Management Association) or NWTF (National Wild Turkey Federation) or get them a subscription to their favorite magazine. (Keep in mind that sometimes with the organizations you get a magazine subscription with it, so you can hypothetically "kill two birds with one stone.") (This too can be a good answer for the dreaded question referenced above as it comes across as both practical and realistic.)
4. Gift Certificates: It may sound boring, but the truth of the matter is that gift certificates can prolong the joy of the gift. For example, you can give someone a turkey call OR you can buy them a gift certificate and they may play, shop and compare for weeks even months deciding what call to get. (That and it will drastically decrease the time you spend fretting over exactly what to get someone.)
