The holiday season is nearly upon us and with it comes the usual flurry of parties, tree decorating, tradition reliving, and gift-giving. Before you get stressed and start researching ways to avoid it all, I want to invite you to take a look at our gift guide. It just might be the perfect solution to all of your holiday stress—at least the gift-giving portion of it.
Although gifts by themselves aren’t what the holiday season is all about, giving and receiving them is a great way to practice generosity and reflect on the real reason for the season—the gift that we’ve all been given through the birth of Jesus Christ.
In this gift guide, you’ll find all kinds of ideas tailored to working professionals. You can use it to find the perfect gift for the people in your life, or you can send this list to the loved ones in your life as a helpful hint of items that you’d like to find under the tree on Christmas morning.
A word to the wise, stay away from colognes and gym memberships—they send the wrong message.
Give the Gift of Education
Another great gift to give to your friends this holiday season is the gift of investing in their futures. If you know that your friend is thinking about returning to school for additional education, refer them to Concordia for one of our degree programs. You refer them, we reach out and take care of the rest. It’s that simple.
1. Easy Dinners for Busy Nights
Some days are just too busy to try to meal plan, stop by the store, and then spend an hour or two prepping and cooking dinner. A HelloFresh subscription saves the day when takeout just doesn’t cut it any longer.
2. Desk Decor
Spending long hours at a desk can be draining in a mind-numbing kind of way. Lighten up your friend’s workday (and office!) with a sun lap or a few hardy plants, like a money tree.
3. Bookish Entertainment
Good stories make lunch breaks even better. Encourage your friend to take a break from work with a book from your local bookstore. You can even purchase a monthly book delivery subscription such as Book of the Month Club to give a gift that keeps on giving.
4. Commuter Learning
If you have a friend with a long commute, an Audible or podcast subscription, like Luminary Premium, works wonders for making the minutes and hours seem like nothing. And, they get to learn something in the meantime.
5. Local Entertainment
The holiday season is always a great time to support the local arts scene, and it’s also a great way to spend time together with your friend. Snag a few tickets to a production of the Nutcracker, sign up for an art crawl, or make plans to attend your local symphony’s Christmas production. Your gift is taking care of the details (and cost!).
6. Resume Builder
Everyone needs a resume booster every now and then, and with the continued globalization of so many industries, a second language goes a long way. Give the gift of Rosetta Stone or, if you want to go simpler language learning route, gift a Duolingo plus account to the curious learner in your life.
7. Strong Coffee
Caffeine is a gift that never goes out of style. This can come in the form of a gift card to a local coffee shop, a bag of beans in the mail, or a personal latte delivery on a particularly taxing day. If you’re buying online, a few of our favorites are Blue Bottle and Counter Culture. If you have a friend who already drinks too much coffee, opt for a tea subscription. A few to check out include Simple Loose Leaf and Amoda.
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