Here’s a compilation of wonderful gift ideas that are all gifts either I have given or that my friends have given me or their other loved ones. I hope you’ll be able to use them this holiday season:

1. Give a loved one a year planner but make sure you mark all your personal anniversaries, special moments in there; e.g. Feb 28: “This was that day a year ago we walked in the park and saw that giant owl. It was so close we could have touched it if we reached out our hands.” Or, May 18: “Around this time 4 years ago we visited your parents at their beach house. Remember when we sneaked out after dinner to be alone on the beach?”

2. Take an old treasured photo from your loved-one’s past and frame it. Or a certificate or award would work, too!

3. Collect your or your loved one’s family/favourite recipes and compile them on a disk or in a notebook. You can even book a cooking or baking night with him or her afterward.

4. Do you have a special talent? Can you use it to make a gift? E.g. If you are a cartoonist, have you made a caricature of your friend yet? Or if you are a musician, have you written a song for your sweetie yet?

5. Get a DVD of your loved-one’s favourite film as a kid.

6. Do you make the best homemade salsa around town? Do you have a special secret mix of herbs and spices you use for your dishes that everyone loves? Make some giant batches, bottle them and give them out as gifts!