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

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

"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.

Tis The Season

With the world economy in turmoil and a high-level of uncertainty in our professional lives, this holiday season is a great time to remember what we are actually celebrating.

Often around this time of year, it is common to hear people say that we should limit or even forgo giving gifts and instead, focus our attention on family and our loved ones. This they say is much more in tune with what the Christmas, Hanukkah, and holiday season is all about. At TisBest, we think this is a good start, but only half the picture.

As consumer spending drops and household budgets become tighter in this economic atmosphere, the world’s charities are finding it exceedingly difficult to meet the needs of those they serve. Food banks are nearly empty, pledges are down from years past, and our focus is being increasingly narrowed on our own needs. As disappointing as this is to hear, we know that now more than ever, every dollar we give and everything we do is going to make a big impact.

To round off the above picture for this holiday season, we think that giving intentionally is the way to go. This could mean giving our family something they truly need, or giving them the means to make an impact in the lives of those much less fortunate. A TisBest charity gift card is the perfect first step for this, as it includes both the gift giver and receiver in the act of giving.

We also suggest you take a look at our friends at Celebrate Green for other intentional gifts that are good for keeping the focus on what’s important.

Happy Holidays!