The Christmas shopping season is just around the corner. Whether you’re the kind of person who already started a month ago or plans on waiting until Dec. 24, there always seems to be one or two people on your list who are just plain challenging to buy for.
When you do your holiday shopping from the World Help Christmas Giving catalog, though, you’ll find a perfect gift for everyone on your list — even the trickiest person who has everything!
These aren’t traditional gifts that you’d think about wrapping and putting under the tree. (Although we have those, too! Check them out here.) Instead, these are life-changing gifts given to someone living in poverty in honor of your loved one.
So, each gift will bring a smile to your family member or friend PLUS someone on the other side of the world. You’ll bring Christmas joy twice!
Here are eight recommended gifts you can give that will reflect the unique interests and personalities of everyone you’re shopping for this year:
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1. Trendy Techie — young, hip, and into the latest gadgets
The Trendy Techie is always in the market for the newest electronic device or gizmo, but you may be at a loss for where to find it, what it is, or what it even does. (We’ve all been there.) And let’s be honest: he’d probably prefer to pick out such a technical gift himself.
So instead, give a gadget in his honor that has an eternal impact — a digital Bible so small it can fit in the palm of your hand.
These USB Bibles can be secretly delivered to persecuted Christians in closed countries. Believers can privately download the Word of God and then easily and discreetly share it with others.
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2. Fitness Fanatic — athletic, healthy, and always on the go
The Fitness Fanatic probably always has a water bottle with her. It’s part of her daily ritual to drink as much water as possible between trips to the gym, a quick jog after work, and hikes on the weekend. She understands how devastating it would be to have only dirty water to drink — or no water at all.
No one can be healthy and active without clean water … but many people living in poverty don’t have access to it. They are constantly sick from waterborne diseases or spend hours walking to the nearest stream when they could be working or attending school.
Honor the Fitness Fanatic in your life by providing clean water for one person in need for an entire year.
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3. Practical Planner — organized, self-sufficient, and low-maintenance
The Practical Planner is the person on your list who probably says every year, “I don’t need anything for Christmas. I have enough already!” So, he’ll probably be more than happy that you are giving to someone else in his honor.
For an extra practical gift, choose to ship lifesaving supplies to people in need. We have food, hygiene kits, clothing, medical equipment, and more sitting in our warehouse right now … but it can’t be sent to the people waiting for it without the funds to ship it. While not everyone may see this as an exciting present, your most practical loved one will definitely see the value and how something as simple as shipping costs translates into lives saved.
The best part is your gift will multiply 33X! Every $1 ships $33 worth of donated supplies, so a $30 gift given in someone’s name sends $990 worth of aid to people who could die without it. Talk about a return on your investment!
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4. Natural Nurturer — loving, compassionate, and a true helper
The Natural Nurturer is the person in your life who gives the best hugs. She’s always there to help, works often behind the scenes, and is an amazing comfort to her family and friends.
This person will never stop looking out for you and making sure you’re taken care of, so the best gift for her is one that keeps on giving and meeting needs for years to come. Consider donating a sheep — or other livestock — in her honor.
A single sheep will supply a family with plenty of wool and nutrient-rich milk. They can sell whatever milk is left over for extra income and use the wool to make sweaters as warm as your Natural Nurturer’s hugs. This animal isn’t just livestock; it’s a comfort and great helper for a family in need.
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5. Meaningful Mentor — responsible, caring, and a reliable adviser
The Meaningful Mentor may be a college professor who took you under her wing or maybe a boss who showed you the ropes of your job since day one. No matter who your Meaningful Mentor is, she probably highly values education and an entrepreneurial spirit.
For this special leader in your life, consider providing a sewing machine to help someone start a business and escape poverty.
In impoverished communities, many people can’t afford to go to college or even finish high school, so they focus on vocational skills like tailoring. A sewing machine can increase a person’s productivity exponentially, allowing her to start her own business and provide a stable income for her family.
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6. Prayerful Powerhouse — spiritual, joyful, and a prayer warrior
The Prayerful Powerhouse may be your small group leader, or it may also be your mom who prays for you every morning. Whoever the Prayerful Powerhouse is in your life, she is no doubt passionate about spreading the Gospel around the world. So, this Christmas, help plant a church in her honor.
Your gift will equip a church planter with necessities like training, Bibles, and study materials as well as essentials like food for his family and transportation costs so he can focus on growing his ministry and reaching more people for Christ.
Your Prayerful Powerhouse will be excited to know her Christmas gift is helping spread the Good News to the ends of the earth.
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7. Ambitious Activist — passionate, fights for justice, and wants to change the world
The Ambitious Activist just wants everyone in the world to have the same, equal rights. She cares about equal pay for women and wants to see harmony among all genders and races.
Most likely the Ambitious Activist already knows about the atrocities of the global sex industry and wants to help end it. So, in her honor, you can introduce one girl to freedom from sexual slavery.
Your donation will help rescue a girl from India or Thailand’s sex industry by providing essentials like a safe place to live, educational opportunities, vocational training, medical care, counseling, and more. Your Ambitious Activist will be proud she’s helping change the world — one girl at a time.
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8. Unreadable Relative — quiet, new to the family, or just doesn’t talk about his interests
The Unreadable Relative is someone you know you need to buy a gift for, but you have no idea what to get this person. Maybe it’s a new son-in-law, a distant cousin, or even a reserved uncle who doesn’t say much at family reunions.
If you have no clue what he’s interested in, you can still give a donation in his name that will help save lives this Christmas. When you choose to give where needed most, your contribution will go to people who are in dire circumstances. And thanks to a matching donation, your gift DOUBLES!
You can provide lifesaving help to a family struggling to survive in the wake of a natural disaster, provide food just in time for a starving child, or provide desperately needed medical care to someone with a deadly illness. That’s a gift anyone can appreciate!
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Once you pick the perfect gifts for everyone on your list and get ready to check out, be sure to request your free greeting cards* to give to your loved ones. Take time to write a note about why you think each person is special and unique and why you chose a particular gift for them.
It will be a Christmas present they will never forget!
There are many other great gifts to explore in the online gift catalog. Click the link below to see all of your giving options this holiday season.
*One card per gift