Give a subscription

The printed word makes a great year-long gift

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today's tip is to consider giving newspaper and magazine subscriptions
as gifts. The recipients will enjoy the gift throughout the year,

(00:27):
and we'll be reminded that you care about them. And
since newspapers and magazines are consumable and recyclable, you won't
just be giving people more stuff. It's like giving an experience,
but generally it's a fairly affordable one. So I personally

(00:47):
love printed publications. We subscribe to a great many in
my home, including The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, Women's Health,
Real Simple, Southern Living, Better Homes and Gardens, HGTV Magazine,
you name it. I just subscribe to the new print

(01:08):
version of Verily magazine that's going to come out quarterly.
I used to subscribe to a great many more magazines,
but sadly many such as Oh and Martha Stewart, Living
and Cooking Light have ceased print operations. Print publications are
a great way to enjoy some non screen fun that's

(01:29):
fairly light on the effort front. I can page through
most magazines in less than an hour. Well not the Economist.
I saved that for long plane trips, but generally, once
I'm done, I feel like I've had a good time.
But as suggested by the fact that many publications have

(01:49):
ceased print operations, I know a great many people don't
read magazines or newspapers. Well, I think they just haven't
been converted yet. If you love print to then why
not give subscriptions this year to folks as gifts. People
won't get just one gift from you, They'll get several.

(02:12):
They'll get to enjoy your gift on a random day
in July, not just in December. And while some publications
such as The Wall Street Journal and The Economist might
not be cheap, I know some folks are expensing those.
Many monthly magazine subscriptions run less than thirty dollars a year.
An hour of entertainment each month for two dollars and

(02:34):
fifty cents, that is hard to beat. There are lots
of thoughtful ways to choose the right subscription. If someone
doesn't subscribe to their local paper or local business or
lifestyle magazine, those might be great options. My guess is
your gift recipient will thank you for the subscription, and

(02:56):
then be thanking you again next September when they've gotten
tickets to that always sold out fall fest because they
knew about it ahead of time, And then again when
they've managed to make reservations at the hot new local
restaurant because they saw the write up about its opening.
If someone has moved away from home, send them a

(03:17):
subscription to a local magazine to let them enjoy some nostalgia.
If you know someone has a goal, a gift subscription
is a great way to help them feel part of
a larger community. Your friend who has embraced cooking would
love eating well. A new fitness enthusiast might like Women's

(03:38):
or Men's Health, or maybe Runners World. You could give
a professional journal to someone who is just starting out
and might not spend his or her own money on
such a thing, say an education magazine for a new teacher.
The Economist actually ran a whole campaign about purchasing a
subscription for the young graduate in your life who should

(04:02):
be reading the Economists to build up their knowledge. But
maybe I can't quite afford it yet. Then of course
there's pure fantasy. Well what amounts to pure fantasy for
most of us? I'm thinking Vogue or Travel and Leisure
or Architectural Digest. Maybe your house looks like that mine doesn't,

(04:24):
but it certainly is fun to talk at the pictures.
Giving a gift of fantasy can be an escape from stress.
The one downside of giving a subscription is that the
recipient doesn't have anything to unwrap, but that is a
solvable problem. A simple approach is to buy a copy

(04:45):
of the magazine or newspaper at a local bookstore and
wrap it up with a note explaining that a subscription
is on the way. You can also give a little
gift that relates to the magazine topic, along with a
note saying that the magazine is coming. For instance, to
announce the gift of a sports illustrated subscription, you could

(05:07):
wrap up a key ring or baseball cap for the
recipient's favorite team. When you give a subscription, you encourage
a person to enjoy their favorite places, activities, and interests,
and you enhance their leisure time all year long. That
strikes me as a good present, certainly a better present
than some object that is just going to gather dust

(05:32):
in the meantime. This is Laura, thanks for listening, and
here's to making the most of our times. Hey everybody,
I'd love to hear from it. You can send me
your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

(05:53):
me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast pot
that's b E the number for then Breakfast p o D.
You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast.
At i heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast is
spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much, I
look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a

(06:20):
production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from my
heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple podcast,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.