What's Your Silliest Gift? A Video by Reel Grrls

Our Seattle Local charity partner Reel Grrls made these videos last year on Black Friday.  They braved the cold outside a downtown shopping center and asked passers-by two questions:  What's the silliest gift you've ever received?  Who's hardest to shop for?

And after you've checked out the videos, tell us your answers in the comments: what's the strangest, silliest gift you've ever been given?  Who do you have trouble finding a meaningful gift for?

Cheers to the crew at Reel Grrls, who help guide and empower young women through teaching them the ins and outs of filmmaking.  And thanks as well to the amazing grrls who made the videos!  They do an awesome job--check out their other projects here.



Tisbest: What's the silliest gift you've ever received? from Reel Grrls on Vimeo.




Tisbest: Who's Hardest to Shop For? from Reel Grrls on Vimeo.



Happy Thanksgiving!
the TisBest Team

"Black November"?

Does it seem like Christmas has come earlier this year? 

No, we’re not noticing a marked upswing in levels of eggnog-related good cheer.  It is not snowing, nor are we already gathered to spend time with family, reconnect with friends, and gorge on traditional delicacies (like my little sister’s amazing orange-glazed cream cheese cake).  No, the part of Christmas that’s moved way up is the part that gets pretty stressful sometimes: the buying of stuff.

A number of stores started talking up “Black Friday” deals the week before Halloween, a sign that the retail industry is moving towards a “Black November” instead of relying on traditional post-Thanksgiving sales.  Wal-Mart, Loews, BestBuy, and Sears have already launched their Christmas bargains.  And Amazon’s “Black Friday” deals started last Friday, while in 2009 those sales didn’t start until November 23^rd.

Sure, this might pump up retail sales in a down economy.  And people will have more time to find good deals on things they might really need (like a new plasma-screen TV—Dexter never looked so good!).  But it’s also likely to result in Christmas burnout much earlier in the season.  What do you think?  Do longer sales mean that people will ultimately spend more on stuff they don’t need, or is this a better idea than stampede-inducing midnight blowouts?

Remembering What Is Important About Gift Giving

As we go through our lives, we often forget the reasons we give in the first place. Jon and I thought it would be fun to chat with you about what we think is important about gift giving. We hope you enjoy the video!



What is important to you about gift giving? We'd love your thoughts!

-Erik

Our First Homemade Video: Why Charity Gift Cards?

Erik and I wanted to introduce ourselves to you all in person, and at the same time to tell you a little bit about why we do what we do.

Here's a little video we made with Re-Vision Labs - enjoy!



(And hey, if you like the video, would you please share it with your friends and families? We're hoping to really spread the idea of charity gift giving this holiday season. Thank you!!)

-Jon

"I'll bet he doesn't have one of these!"

I saw this truck in the nearby Goodwill parking lot today and I couldn't help myself. I had to take a picture. It struck me as a reminder of just how much stuff we tend to collect. Our family is desperately trying to de-stuffify, but it's a difficult job. We've got excess stuff jammed in every closet, in every nook and cranny, on every garage shelf, and even under a bed or two. And that's after giving bag after bag of stuff to the Goodwill.

One of my favorite items got unearthed a couple of weekends ago as my wife was rearranging a kitchen cabinet. She found a double beer can upright chicken cooker that I received as a birthday present from my younger brother. It was a wonderful gesture, but, sorry Tom, it just isn't gonna get used again. I know what he was thinking: "I'll bet he doesn't have one of these!" Right you are. I didn't. And now I don't once again.