The Best Part Of Christmas
This is the time of year when we all get overwhelmed with offers to buy pretty much everything. Every website you have ever been to sends you an email trying to get your attention. Pressure is squeezed on you to find just the right gift for every person you know – and they have just the right solution!
The strategy works. I’ve done it – every year. I have always felt bad for it because I KNOW your time is better spent on your family than on ‘things’. Still, about half of my yearly income generally comes from the month between Thanksgiving and Christmas so it’s something I did.
Not this year!
This year, instead I want to remind you:
The most important holiday memories aren’t wrapped in boxes!
Spending time together is enough. Thinking about each other is enough. Lifting each other up is enough! You do not have to spend a dime this year to have a magical holiday!
I cannot remember a single gift from my childhood. I can remember how my mom took care to make chocolates with me. I can remember pulling the ornaments out of their boxes. I can remember how she didn’t get mad when I accidentally broke one. I remember how proud my dad was to have his kids help pick just the right tree. I remember taking such joy in saying ‘Happy Holidays’ to strangers and the smiles that crossed their faces. None of the holiday spirit is about consumerism.
Just BE with your loved ones. YOU are enough.
Two FREE ways to gift something very special:
1 – My favorite: write a heartfelt, hand written, letter!
There is no gift I like giving or receiving more. I love to hear stories from times shared – from the other persons perspective. I like to hear what someone admires about me. Why they love me. How I influenced them, etc. I also like to take moments to tell others those things. There is happiness in the writing and in the receiving. Get over feeling silly doing it. Don’t filter too much. Just do it. These are also nice memories to save and go back to whenever you’re feeling lonely or blue. That’s a great gift! (Of course there are books now that make this easy – I still like the letter format best though.)
2 – Make it a scavenger hunt!
This one takes a little more effort but it makes for a very memorable experience! My brother once did this for me and let me tell you, it was fun! It’s still to date my favorite gift ever received and I don’t even remember what it was! 🙂
So, you work backward. At the end, you have a special thing. It can be a picture, a letter, a candy bar, whatever. Hide it somewhere connected to a special memory. Write a note about that special place (vague is good). Make it a riddle if you can, something that’s hard to guess. Take that note, hide it somewhere else with a special memory or funny story. Write a note and repeat.
You can throw in different obstacles if you’d like. My brother for instance hid a note between two scrap pieces of wood. He screwed them together with different types of screws (so I had to find the drill AND the different bits). Then duck-taped the blocks and hid the mess of a clue and the drill! He had about seven steps in his hunt that led me under the door mat and moms house, under the pillow in their spare bedroom, the garage, etc. Each clue was somewhat obscured in an obstacle, too. Presents that year weren’t done in 5 minutes and it was a fun trip down memory lane along with pure problem solving! It was so FUN!
The point is:
Stuff doesn’t matter – YOU matter! Your happiness matters. Your friends’ happiness matters! I hope you have a lovely holiday full of joy and laughter!
…If you are still interested in discounts on my wares – I have my Plans discounted 50% with the code ‘TisTheSeason’ and you can find my courses discounted through Christmas as well…
