It’s the DIY Holiday-giving Season

16th December 2024   ·   0 Comments

Online shoppers jumped on deep discounts on Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday with a flurry of keystrokes to finish purchasing Kris Kringle and holiday gifts.

ABC News published an Adobe Analytics e-commerce report that found shoppers spent nearly $17 billion online on toys, jewelry, electronics, appliances and clothing. According to Adobe, people prefer shopping online instead of in-person pushing, shoving and grabbing for popular merchandise at stores.

Louisianans are all aglow celebrating the holiday season with Christmas parades, creative bonfire structures to light the way of Papa Noel, toy giveaways and preparations to feed the hungry. Indeed, they may also have been in the thick of the buying frenzy that has become an American tradition post-Thanksgiving.

Or not.

A Wallet Hub 2024 analysis, called the “Most and Least Stressed States,” pulls the covers off the merriment and visions of sugar plums dancing in Louisianans’ heads.

According to the report, Louisiana is the most stressed state.

According to the analysis, Louisiana’s financial conditions contribute to stress levels. Louisiana has the second-highest poverty rate in the country, and residents have the second-lowest median credit score, at just 675. Low incomes and low credit scores make it difficult for residents to get credit, purchase homes and vehicles, and improve their economic status.

Residents of the Bayou State also have the third-highest separation and divorce rate in the country, and Louisiana has the second-highest share of households that have a single parent. These conditions can put excess stress on children and parents alike.

Finally, analysts credited the state with the highest violent crime rates per capita and property crime rates per capita. These types of threats cause residents to worry about their safety.

Chalk up another First Place embarrassment for the state, followed by its fraternal twin in all things lacking: Mississippi.

But it’s the season to be jolly! And if nothing else, Louisianans, specifically New Orleanians, are among the most creative beings on the planet!

So, in the spirit of creativity and making something out of nothing, The Louisiana Weekly proclaims this gift-giving period the DIY Holiday Season.

For those whose budgets are tight and funds low, remember that gifts from the heart and soul, such as DIY creations, are the best.

Here’s a list of the DIY one-of-a-kind, “personally yours,” priceless gifts one can bestow on family, friends, children and partners:

• A letter of gratitude that says thanks for all that you do and one that describes the gift recipient’s best attributes;

• A poem or prose with photos that speak to the best and worst of times…a chronology of perseverance and resilience;

• Baked goods – cookies, peanut brittle, pies, pralines, or other handmade sweets;

• An embroidered/monogram handkerchief, towel, or scarf;

• T-shirt with an iron-on patch that spells out the person’s name and/or a message of a familiar phrase the person uses regularly;

• Free car wash;

• Free back rub;

• Free foot massage;

• A day off from chores/childcare;

• Breakfast in bed;

• Movie night;

• Candle-lit dinner;

• Lunch date;

• Date night;

• A day of service/honey-do list checking off;

• For new parents: free baby-sitting; loads of laundry washed and folded. A free trip to the grocery store alone;

• DIY coupon book;

• Free snacks;

• Free errands – pick-up and deliver;

• Dancing under the stars in the backyard;

• Host an indoor picnic;

• A visual art painting;

• A performance – singing a favorite song, playing an instrument, or acting out a movie;

• TV sitcom role;

• Re-gift your favorite book;

• Homemade egg nog and/or homemade preserves in mason jars;

• An act of kindness.

Those are a few low-cost and no-cost DIY gifts destined to become a ‘remember when’ memory for the gift recipients. Given the high creativity of Louisianans and New Orleanians, many more DIY projects can be created.

This article originally published in the December 16, 2024 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.