Gifts people can use year-round

Services such as Blue Apron, HelloFresh and Plated deliver weekly boxes of raw ingredients, including spices. (AP Photo/Matthew Mead)
Educational software such as ABC Mouse.com or Rosetta Stone can be used to learn and entertain long after the holidays are over. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
Purchase a gift card for Netflix so your loved one can catch up on their favorite shows or watch movies all year long.  (AP Photo/Dan Goodman)
Give a gift of a stock to teach a young teenager about finances and give their future savings a leg up.  (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)
An annual subscription to Amazon Prime gives people the gift of free shipping all year long as well as access to the online giant’s streaming music and TV service.  (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)
Offering someone who has a big purchase or life change ahead of them an hour with a financial adviser can provide them with valuable advice they'll use for years to come. (Thinkstock)
Offering someone who has a big purchase or life change ahead of them an hour with a financial adviser can provide them with valuable advice they’ll use for years to come. (Thinkstock)
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Offering someone who has a big purchase or life change ahead of them an hour with a financial adviser can provide them with valuable advice they'll use for years to come. (Thinkstock)

WASHINGTON — Call them the gifts that keep on giving — you buy them once, and they use them all year.

Janet Bodner with Kiplinger’s Personal Finance has some advice for gifts that can have lasting impact — long after the holidays are over.

Many entertainment gifts can bring year-round enjoyment.

“You can actually buy a gift card to Netflix. You get it on Amazon.com, ” Bodnar says.

While many view gift cards as impersonal, Bodner says gifting a yearlong streaming TV service could help a friend or loved one find a new show or feel better on a sick day.

“You can get an actual gift card from $30 to $60, or email a card from $25 to 100. So they can start a new subscription [or] they can add to an existing subscription, and binge-watch all they want,” she says.

Bodnar also suggests buying someone an hour with a financial adviser, a share of a stock or educational software that will help that person learn a new language.

Think inside the box if you’re buying for a budding chef and give them a meal preparation subscription like Hello Fresh or Blue Apron.

“You select from their menu of recipes. They deliver all the ingredients you need, and they deliver it in a refrigerated package to their door,” Bodner says.

Meals run about $10 and you can order a week of meals for two.

“You can also get two-week or four-week options, or you can go with a family size that serves four people,” she says.

Another option: a subscription to Amazon Prime, which lets people access free shipping and streaming music and TV.

Kiplinger’s Personal Finance put together a full list of gifts that keep on giving here.

Megan Cloherty

WTOP Investigative Reporter Megan Cloherty primarily covers breaking news, crime and courts.

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