You don’t have to travel far to find the perfect holiday gift for everyone on your list. Northwest Indiana has hundreds of businesses throughout Lake, Porter, and La Porte counties, making shopping local a breeze at any time of year, but especially so during the holiday season. If you’re on the hunt for a unique find at a great price, consider Goodwill Industries of Michiana. With many locations throughout the Region, it’s easier than ever to find everything you’re looking for and more this Christmas.
To show off just how many hidden gems lie within the walls of Goodwill, the GreatNews.Life (GNL) staff participated in a white elephant gift exchange with a special twist - all items had to be bought from Goodwill, and each gift had to come to a total of $20 or less.
With the objective set, the GNL team got to work finding the perfect gifts for their coworkers. Looking for gifts was one of their favorite parts of it all. While many have participated in a white elephant exchange before, limiting shopping options to Goodwill locations added a new layer to the game, and they were all definitely up for the challenge.
“I had an absolute blast shopping!” said GNL Executive Director Jenny Craig-Brown. “It was so fun to go through the store and pick out different things I knew the team would like. It reminds me that I need to go more often! I wanted to buy all types of stuff for myself as well as others. What a great time and a great reminder of all the great items (some of which were brand new) at Goodwill.”
Since Goodwill houses a variety of items, from clothes, kitchen items, holiday decor, and more, it was easy for everyone to get creative when picking out their gift. With so many options to choose from, it was a simple task to find great gifts each everyone on the GNL staff would be sure to love.
”When I walked in, I saw these two little green owls that were so adorable,” said GNL Partnership and Office Coordinator Kami Tupiak. “I knew someone else who I work with would love them, too. I built my gift around them and made a neat basket with so many other cute items, but the real winner was the owls.”
When the much anticipated day finally arrived, the exchange proved to be a major success. It was a great way to get everyone into the holiday spirit and kick off the Christmas season.
“This was such a cool experience,” said GNL Content Manager Ashley Spargo. “I was able to go to my local Goodwill and buy something for my coworker. It ended up being so fun!”
The exchange wasn’t complete, however, without some special surprises that definitely made this one to remember for the GNL team. While everyone went into the fun thinking they’d have a go at stealing someone else’s gift, it seems everyone got lucky the first time. Whether it was an adorable penguin candle holder, a crockpot, or books, everyone loved their gift too much to let it go and decided to pass on switching theirs out for something different.
This exchange was also a reminder that the perfect present is never determined by the price or where it was bought but instead by the meaning behind it for the person receiving the gift. With a unique set of items at each Goodwill store, you’ll never run out of options for the perfect holiday gift.
“Goodwill is such a fun place to shop for Christmas gifts, especially white elephant gift exchanges because you never know what you may find,” said GNL Senior Editor Aubrey Thomson. “There are so many things that make Goodwill great; the affordability, the repurposed products, and the way it gives back to the community. I am always happy to shop at Goodwill because of the heart behind everything it does.”
For more information on Goodwill Industries of Michiana, visit https://www.goodwill-ni.org/.
