Whether money is tight, I want to give something personal, or I just prefer to give my time and energy rather than spending money on “stuff,” sometimes giving a homemade coupon is just the ticket. But it’s also easy to fall into a “coupon rut.” Sometimes offering to do the dishes for a week, or wash the car, just doesn’t whip me into a frenzy of holiday excitement. I needed some creative coupon ideas!

I sat down to think about what I would love to give and receive, and polled my friends. Turns out, in my age-and-stage-of-life group, a lot of people do want their dishes done… but I collected some other great ideas (cleaning related or otherwise) as well!

Here are 16 creative coupon ideas for the holidays:

Book reading: Volunteer to read a book out loud to someone who loves being read to.

Yes, Dear: A coupon your spouse can redeem when they ask you to do or agree to something you usually grumble about.

Get out of jail free: A “get out of the doghouse” coupon for the next time the receiver pulls a boneheaded move.

Wrapper extraordinaire: Wrap their holiday presents the following year, or give the coupon early for this year’s wrapping.

Foodie services: Aside from the obvious “cooking a fancy meal,” you could also offer a week of menu planning, grocery shopping, or lunch-making.

Baker’s dozen: Homemade pie or batch of cookies. If you’re feeling really generous, make it a “pie a month” coupon!

Babysitting: Offer to watch the kids so a parent or couple can go out. Even better, offer to take the kids out so the parents or your spouse can stay home in their jammies and do nothing!!

Chuck-E-Cheese: Related to babysitting, but this coupon offers to take kids out to a place the kids are excited about that their parents may have grown weary of. Think zoo, play gym, mall, toy store, or a certain restaurant with a giant mouse and lots of flashing lights.

Pet-sitting or house-sitting: A great idea for people who may have trouble getting out of town because of the stress or cost of having someone look after things while they are gone.

1-800-GOT-JUNK: Offer to help organize a room, go through an attic, or make trips to Goodwill to help the receiver start the new year fresh.

Taxes: If you’re financially organized, make a coupon to help the receiver get their receipts and records organized in January, in plenty of time for them to get their taxes done stress-free.

(Literal) remote control: Better than just picking the movie for the evening, give the recipient control of the remote for a week or a month. Or, if you and your partner/spouse have a long list of shows in your queue, let them choose which show to watch next.

Errand boy: A day of running annoying errands, like going to the post office, returning items, picking up kids from school, or trekking to an obscure store that carries a hard-to-find item the recipient needs.

Spring cleaning: Serious cleaning was a popular reply amongst my friends. The dirty, grimy, or just obnoxious stuff that’s just not in your weekly rotation, like cleaning out a fireplace, washing baseboards or windows, or dusting fans and blinds.

Diaper duty: For a co-parent, a coupon that can be cashed in for a full week of diaper duty, bedtime duty, or toy pick-up.

Fill in the blank: If you’re brave, give a blank coupon for the recipient to fill in something they’d really like for you to do. You may want to put some fine print on this one!

Here’s a link to blog Love, Actually with downloadable PDF printable homemade coupon files. You can even use some of these gift card wrapping ideas for a festive way to present the coupons!

What coupons would you like to give or receive?

Related posts:
Ten Alternatives to Christmas Gifts
Frugal and Homemade Holiday Gifts 
Christmas Gift Ideas for 2013
Homemade Gifts for the Holidays