Utilizing Frequent Flier miles, or Credit Card Bonus Points is a great way to give gifts OR experiences without dipping into your already thin Piggy Bank, or over extending your already bloated credit cards.

Using your imagination is the ultimate reward for both you and your “experience recipient”. Very often experiences are remembered LONG after any array of presents. Life is for building memories. See what parts of your holiday gift giving can be fulfilled this year with an experience, rather than a gift. Obviously, the experiences could cost money, or be purchased with bonus points OR be absolutely free.

  • Think of something, an activity you already participate in which you can bring a guest, like a yoga class, a wine tasting, or a special women’s networking event.
  • Think of a location you already visit, etc. Now invite your friend or sister to come along with you for a very special picnic in the park, consisting of home-made delicacies spread across a checkered blanket, on an upcoming date chosen by your recipient. Or go online for a great bicycle route, and invite a friend to share a special 2-hr bike ride.
  • Or invite a bunch of friends over for a weekend football game where everyone brings a covered dish
  • Think of giving a heart shaped box—who doesn’t have one or two of these hanging around—filled with little handwritten coupons; i.e., Good for One Back Rub, Good for One Evening Roasting Marshmallows in front of the Fire, Good for one Kitchen Cleaning, Good for 5 crisply Ironed Shirts, Good for One Foot Massage, Good for One Grocery Run, Good for One Baby-Sitting Evening you could give your friends with kids, Good for One Batch of Home Made Chocolate Chip Cookies, Good for One Home Cooked Meal for a person in a nursing home, Good for One Compliment on a Rough Day, Good for One Shoulder-to-Cry on – no words necessary.

In my area, the Optimum rewards program offers their customers free movies on Tuesdays at participating Clearview Cinemas. So, no one needs to know the movies are free, just give a Free Movie ticket.

And, by the way, a points-cards management system might just be https://www.points.com/

Let’s use our brains this holiday season so that our January is happy and joyous also!