Sometimes the greatest gift from investing can be the dividends you receive, and hopefully reinvest, each quarter. Not only is receiving payment for having skin in the game a nice bonus, but dividends also help reduce portfolio risk and mitigate stock price declines.

If you're shopping for dividend stocks during the holiday season, here are three no-brainer options: Costco (NASDAQ: COST), Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F), and Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG).

Costco is a unique dividend stock, and if you were simply screening for dividend yields above a certain threshold, this stock probably wouldn't show up. However, savvy investors won't overlook the fact that Costco has a solid history of special dividends that aren't wrapped into the dividend yield figure.

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Source Fool.com