SWAGG is a free mobile app (download here) that lets you shop smarter using your mobile phone. Buy, send or swap SWAGG GIFTS and organize your old school plastic gift cards.

For every download of the app between now and Dec. 31, 2010, SWAGG will donate $1 to Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) , up to $125,000.

Clever Girls Collective and SWAGG are sending a pair of movie fans to the Sundance Film Festival! Download the SWAGG app and then visit the Ultimate SWAGG Getaway Sweepstakes site to enter to win a trip for two to the Sundance Film Festival. Entry deadline is January 3, 2011, 11:59pm, PST.

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When the Clever Girls asked me to write about the greatest gift I ever gave, I actually struggled with it. Not because I couldn’t think of any amazing gifts, but because I have several favorites through the years—gifts that truly inspired happiness in the recipient or gifts that I still see in action or on display years later.

Then, I realized something. All of those gifts were based on memories—either new memories created, something that represents favorite memories or allow us to relive it all over again. I’m giving two of these gifts this year. The family recipe books not only include fun photos, but recipes that trigger childhood memories and will allow them to create grownup ones as they cook things for their family & friends.

The photo calendars I made for the girls showcase some of my favorite memories of 2010. But, the real gift is the new memories we’ll create in our 2011 Year of Awesome. Each month will have a scheduled family fun day—whether it’s a free movie marathon at home, a day at a favorite attraction with our family membership or money spent on a new experience, we’re setting aside a day just for us.

I adore experience gifts—give me movie tickets, zoo passes or family memberships any day over more toys & stuff that will only create more chaos in my home. Not everyone feels the same way, though, so I have to carefully choose who gets this kind of gift from our family. We’ve taken grandparents to dinner, instead of giving more things, and we’ve taken the girls somewhere special for their birthdays while limiting actual gifts.

I can’t say material gifts are never amazing, though, because even those are often steeped in memory. Each year at Christmas, I buy 4 copies of an old school movie. One goes on my DVD shelf, the other 3 are gifts for my siblings. They love guessing which of our old favorites I’ll pick next, and I love sharing our childhood memories with my own kids.

This has gone on for a few years, now, and I’m starting to run out of ideas that one of us doesn’t already have. As in, we celebrate our Christmas in 2 days, and I’ve got nothing! Maybe it’s time to pick a new sibling connection—the idea isn’t to spend a lot of money. My DVD choices were usually around $5 each. It’s all about using the holiday season to bring us closer together. Shared memories provide the opportunity to reminiscence and reconnect.

Here are a few ideas, if you’re looking to gift something special this holiday season:

• Something the recipient had as a child
• An update to something they used to love
• A movie based on a beloved childhood book
• A few favorite things in a shadow box
• A Photo Book (it’s not too late for holiday shipping!)
• A Family Recipe collection
• A Groupon for a fun, local attraction to enjoy with their family
• A restaurant gift card, with a note that says I’d love to join you when you use it!

What ideas do you have? Or, tell me about the best gift you ever gave (or received!).

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