Have you started shopping for gifts? Not yet. Hurry, Christmas has almost arrived. Rush of people around the gift stores is a common scenario during festive seasons. However, Christmas is one of the most awaited festivals for not only the children, but for adults as well. Presenting and receiving gifts is one of the traditions that are being followed on the day of Christmas since a very long time. Thus, Christmas brings confusion for everyone as far as choosing a proper gift for the recipients is concerned. The process of making an apt selection becomes more complex, when the recipient is a female, To choose an ideal gift for her, you can look for it online or even at general local gift stores. To mark the specialty of the occasion, however, unique and unusual Christmas gifts are mostly preferred. Some of the unusual Christmas gifts that you can choose for a female recipient are as follows:

To make your present, a best one, you should try to offer something personalized to the recipient. If you have crafty talents, you can utilize your creativity to make something that she would surely like to receive. If she is crazy about using unique purses, sew her an attractive purse that she could use on a daily basis. Knitting her a scarf or crocheting an afghan for her can also be the most unusual Christmas gifts for the lady. In making these handiworks more appealing, you can use her favorite colors to adorn the overall product, making it a memento for the occasion.

If you don’t possess crafty talents, don’t be disappointed, several artists are available to help you prepare a handmade item that you can present to the female recipient as a perfect gift for her. Various websites are there where you will find numerous artists who can offer you their handicraft services. The only thing that you need to do is to give a detailed description about the kind of product you want them to make. Be clear on payment related issues as well as the date of delivery. This will be a great alternative if you genuinely want to present unusual Christmas gifts to the lady.

If you know the female recipient well, you might have an idea about the fragrances that she likes. If she is fond of strong scents or softer ones, based on her preference you can opt for customized perfume as an ideal gift for her. Various websites are available that give you an opportunity to mix three fragrances together in order to produce a customized soap, lotion, body spray or perfumes for the females. These unusual Christmas gifts get delivered to the gift givers in a well-packaged and wrapped gift box to be presented to the female recipients.

You can present an accessory to the females containing the names of her family members, which can also be counted as an exclusive gift for her. This will, however, be a best alternative for those who have really strong family bonds.

Based on the nature of the female recipient, you can choose any one from the above-mentioned unusual Christmas gifts for her.

Giving gifts to family and charity while you’re alive can be a boon to them – and your estate.

Estate planning isn’t just about how you want your assets distributed after you die. It’s about deciding how much you want to give away while you’re still alive. If you plan carefully – so you don’t outlive your assets – giving allows you to reduce your taxable estate and provide advance help to your beneficiaries.

There are two easy ways to give gifts without incurring the gift tax:

You may pay an unlimited amount in medical or educational expenses for another person, if you give the money directly to the institutions where the expenses were incurred. You may give up to $13,000 a year in cash or assets to as many people as you like.

Anytime you give more than $13,000 annually to any one person you must file a gift-tax return and the excess amount will be applied toward your lifetime gift-tax exclusion of $1 million.

If at any point your gifts exceed that exclusion, you will have to pay gift tax on the excess amount. There is some good news in that regard. The top tax rate on gifts is gradually declining and will fall to 35 percent by 2010.

Keep in mind, too, that gifts you give within three years of your death that exceed the lifetime gift-tax exclusion will reduce the amount of money you may leave to your heirs free of federal estate taxes, according to certified public accountant P. Jeffrey Christakos of First Union Securities in Westfield, N.J. For example, if you give away $100,000 more than your lifetime exclusion within three years of your death, your estate-tax exemption will be reduced by $100,000.

If you want to invest in a 529 college savings plan for a beneficiary, contributions are treated as gifts. You may put in as much as $65,000 in one year ($130,000 with your spouse), but that contribution will be treated as if it were being made in $13,000 installments over five years.

That means you can’t give any more money to that beneficiary tax-free during that five-year period. Should you die before the five years are up, part of the money you gave will be included in your taxable estate, specifically the $65,000 minus $13,000 for each year you were alive.

The tax consequence of making large gifts can get complicated. So if you have a large estate, consult with your financial or tax planner to see how much giving you can do without triggering a big tax bill. Charitable donations are another way to reduce your estate. By investing in charitable gift funds and community foundations, those donations can stretch beyond your death.

Charitable gift funds, which are offered by Fidelity, Vanguard and others, permit you to make a tax-deductible donation, grow your investment tax-free, and then direct a contribution – in your name – to nonprofits of your choosing whenever you like.

Community foundations are regionally based charities that take donations of as little as $5,000 in cash, stock or property. The foundations invest that money, pool the gains, and allocate grants, usually to local nonprofits. In most cases, you may either have the foundation give money to organizations you choose or ask the foundation to locate a worthy recipient for a cause you like.

You also can set up what’s known as a charitable lead trust, from which a charity receives the income and your heirs the principal; or a charitable remainder trust, in which your heirs get the income and the charity gets the principal.

It’s the merriest time of the year once again and in a few short weeks, office holiday parties will start again. Are you thinking of giving gifts for your officemates? Or is your office holding a Christmas gift exchange game? If so, let me share to you some ideas to help you make your office gift giving appropriate and less stressful.

1. If you’re holding an exchange gift game, don’t overspend. If your office has imposed a limit to the amount of money then you should stay within that limit.

2. Consider the recipient’s interests and hobbies. Nothing would make them appreciate the gift more than knowing that you went out of your way to give something that you think they would like.

3. Avoid giving gag gifts. Some people might not take it well so avoid giving such gifts in the workplace.

4. Wrap your gift. Wrapping your gift makes it more presentable and gives it an element of surprise and mystery.

5. Avoid giving food as gifts. Some people might be allergic to certain foods that you don’t know of so it’s better to be safe and not give something edible.

6. Consider giving gift certificates. This is considered to be the safest gift that you can give to anyone. You could give them a gift certificate from a popular coffee shop or a bookstore.

7. Avoid giving gifts from thrift stores and dollar stores. You don’t want the recipient to think that you’re cheap don’t you?

8. Consider giving practical and gifts that the recipient could really use such as notepads, calendars, umbrellas and stress squeeze balls.

Giving gifts to the people you work with at the office is a simple way of saying “Thank You”. You don’t have to spend a lot in buying gifts because it’s the thought that counts. Happy shopping!