Christmas gifts for the unemployed

With the national unemployment rate at 6.1%, chances are that you know someone who is jobless. And for someone without money coming in, getting help finding a job, or at least making it less stressful, is the best gift you can give.

As someone who is approaching six months since being laid off, I've learned a few things about what jobless people need. A lot of it is help that you can offer without spending a lot of money. Kind of like the coupons you made when you were a kid to give your parents as gifts -- washing the car, babysitting, making breakfast, the things you can't buy in a store.

So here's my list of Christmas gifts for the unemployed, from the goofy to the practical to the simply fun things to break up the monotony of the job hunt. Like getting socks from your grandma for Christmas, some of these ideas may be a bit too practical, so still consider trivial and fun gifts for the jobless people in your life. But for someone without a steady income, getting something practical that can help them in their job search is probably what they want.