Lets’ face it. Most of us have enough “stuff”. What everyone really wants for Christmas is deeper than another sweater. Maybe you have been wandering around the mall hoping that something jumps out at you so you can finally be finished with your Christmas shopping? Perhaps you are buying for that hard to shop for person, you know, the one that has everything? Do you feel like Christmas gifts are something you need to “get done” so you can enjoy the holiday season? I’ve been there. In fact, some years I end up there even though I try not too. So how do you give gifts that are meaningful, don’t stress you out, and don’t break the bank? The answer is simple, yet elusive; be thoughtful. Most of us are thoughtful, we just don’t stop what we are doing to take the time to think. Let’s face it, our lives are fast paced with more things to do in a day then there is time to do. Start right now. Think back to your childhood, I bet you can think of at least one gift you received as a child that you won’t ever forget. I know I can. But to be honest, I can only think of a few that fall into this category even though every year I am sure I just “had to have” some new thing I saw. Go ahead and think about it, I’ll wait. While I’m waiting I think I’ll make a wreath.
Got it? I’m sure you are like me, the gift was tied more to the feeling rather than the actual object. We all love gifts that make us feel one or more of these emotions; free, loved, appreciated, understood, inspired, beautiful, smart, thrilled, happy.
The problem is, how does one think of a gift that can elicit such an emotion? Easy! Think outside the box. Wait, think outside the box? How do you do that? If everyone was good at thinking outside the box, boxes wouldn’t really exist. But they do.
So, let’s work on getting out of the box together.
Step 1: Brainstorm a list of characteristics for the person. You know, the kind of brainstorm/spider web thing you did in elementary school when you were learning to write? Answer some of these questions.
Does the person have a hobby? What do they do for entertainment? Are they starting a new chapter in their life? Any big events this past year? Any big events coming up? What do they read? Any particular passions? Write a sentence or two describing this person.
Step 2: Decide on the emotion you want to evoke. Try to base a gift upon that emotion.
Step 3: Check to make sure it falls into your available resources (time, money etc…). After all, the point is to not stress you out. It should be enjoyable.
Step 4: Wrap it up and try to keep it a secret. This is hard because when we figure out a truly great gift it is so hard to wait until Christmas.
The wreath you have witnessed being built is for a friend of mine who is crazy for Alabama football. She’ll be thrilled.
Nothing coming to mind? Maybe I can help a little more. I put together a quick Christmas Gift “trigger list”. This list hopefully can help “trigger” a gift idea for someone you know.
I would love to say every gift I give falls into one of these super meaningful categories. Again, time and money sometimes hold me back. This year I have done a few gifts I am super excited about. I bought my husband tickets to an NFL game for his hometown team where the games have been sold out for YEARS. Don’t worry, I gave them already for our 20th anniversary and said they were part of his Christmas too. I’m also giving my son this book.
It’s the story of a boy who has an idea that grows even though he tries to ignore it. He thinks people will laugh at him for his idea. Some people even tell him his idea is dumb. In the end though, the boy and his idea change the world. We hand-wrote a letter to him inside the cover of his book encouraging him to nurture his ideas. He wants to be a robotic engineer so he has a very creative mind. We don’t want him to lose that as he moves through these middle school years.
I hope, my friends, that I have inspired you to give a meaningful gift. Please take the time to leave a comment telling of a gift you gave or received that was truly meaningful. I read and reply to every single comment. Others may be inspired by you! Merry Christmas!
Nancy
Nailed it!
Thanks Dawn!