The best gifts are not the ones that come with the largest price tags attached.
We all know this. We’ve all seen How the Grinch Stole Christmas at least 117 times. And yet we always forget.
It’s easy to understand how we slide away from gifts from the heart to gifts from the wallet.
We are constantly busy. Work, commuting, school, and family time fill up our days pretty quickly. Throw in doing the dishes and maybe watching an hour of TV and that’s it, you’re ready to pass out before getting up and do it all again.
We have very little time to give something intensely personal.
In addition, there is a social pressure to spend. Ads and Hollywood and the pressure to keep up with the Jones’s all tell us that if we aren’t getting our loved one a new Xbox, a jet ski, and a trip to Maui, we’re failures.
And yet, we urge you to consider other ways to give, as well as the ways that come wrapped up under the tree.
Even if you are lucky enough to be able to give your family a trip to Maui, you wouldn’t want them to each go alone. Time spent with loved ones is perhaps the most precious gift in these hyper-scheduled times.
You might not have the skill to make anything yourself, but that is not necessary.
If you are looking for last minute gift ideas, consider getting a board game, or the materials for a project that two or more people can work on together.
Offer to take the load off someone by taking on a few of their chores. Do the dishes for a month, grab the groceries, take out the recycling.
We can always give of ourselves during the holiday season.
– M.C.