Topping the short list in this stinky economy is giving a gift that doesn’t really cost you anything – the gift of time.  Celebrate that special guy or grad and surprise them by doing something useful for them.  Need some ideas?

• Give Dad’s garage a clean sweep – literally.  Skip the vac, and build up a good sweat by sweeping up all the grass cuttings, leaves and other nasty debris that somehow wind up in the garage or shed. Then tidy up and organize the space a bit.  If the space happens to be in dire need of organizing, dive in and really do it right.  Get some boxes from your local liquor store (label them with a marker, ie:  electrical cords, gardening tools, gloves).  Put extraneous nails, screws, washers, bolts in little glass jars (ie: recycled jelly jars or baby food jars).  Place shovels and brooms in the corner or hang up tools, etc on a peg board, (makes great use of the wall space, and it looks so fine).

• For the college grad — offer to help them fine tune their resume, or soul search for a job.  Kick around some ideas on how they might want to start earning a living, refer them to a colleague or friend who might have the perfect first job for them, have a heart to heart and give them some thoughtful advice on wardrobe, interviewing, or just how to deal with all their “free time.”  Oftentimes, grads won’t admit that they need some good sage advice.