The holiday season is a time of joy and giving, right? A time when every heart should feel a bit lighter, a bit warmer and a lot more happy. This is the time to put aside your daily cares and remember what is truly important in your life. It's a time for love.
Yet for many, this time of year is one filled with anxiety and pain. Whether you want to give to others because you have bought into the society's rules of give til you break or you want to give for the beautiful reason of sharing your love for a person in a tangible way, when you are struggling just to pay your basic household expenses, gift giving becomes a source of guilt and hurt.
Some advise you to put aside a little money all year long, and this is truly good advice. But if you are frequently doing a balancing act between keeping food on the table and a roof above your head, you know darn well that every penny needs to go towards those priorities and it's just not easy to keep anything aside for the future.
So what to do? Well I have a suggestion. It will sound cheesy, it will sound maybe almost childish. But I'd like you to mull it over carefully before you reject it out of hand. Because if done with loving thought towards the recipient, it may be just what they needed.
Ready for it? Here it is: Homemade Gift Coupons. That's right, like your grade school teachers had you make for Mommy and Daddy. But instead of coupons like "one free hug" or "clean my room", you'll give a coupon for what that person really needs to make their lives a bit easier. This is a practical gift that costs nothing but time and thoughtfulness.
Let me use my own life to demonstrate the value:
I work anywhere from 45-60 hours in any given week depending on demands (thankfully the 60 hours is on the rare side). In addition to my work, I commute an hour in each direction. It's early when I leave and late when I get home. I have a wonderful husband and two rapidly growing children- a teenage girl and an almost pre-teen boy. My daughter dances 3 days a week and my son requires significant hands-on help to ensure his school work is completed. My husband works full time. We only have one car, which is always with me. Basically, my life is a little piece of insanity.
The kids devour all the food in sight and leave piles of dirty dishes. They are good kids but it's almost a full-time job in itself to remind them to clean up after themselves and to do chores. My husband and I are too exhausted between work, schoolwork, classes, appointments and dinner to do much of anything during the week. This means we shove a ton of cleaning, all the shopping and any other errands the family needs into two very short weekend days. In order to enjoy our time and do something outside the necessary, means putting aside things that need doing.
If someone came to me and gifted me with a coupon I could use in the future, that addressed any of these items, I would be ecstatic. For me, it could be something as simple as "One family dinner cooked for you" or "One night's dishes washed". Another great one would be "I'll run to the store for you to pick up some things". These are all gifts that cost nothing, but would make a huge impact in my life. And the closer you are to a person, the more you can offer.
A husband to a new stay at home mom could give her a coupon for a day without baby, to go out with her friend for coffee and window shopping.
A close friend could offer to clean up the kitchen and living room for a busy working family.
Going out for coffee may be great for the mom of teenagers who just needs some quiet time and an ear to talk to.
Gift giving should not be about the money you put into it, or the things you purchase, it's about understanding what the gift recipient truly needs right now and making it happen for them. So, if your pockets are empty but your heart is full, you now have a way to show how much you understand what a person is going through and how much you care.
Happy Gifting!
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