Tired of giving stuff? You can make the move away from the "materialistic focus" of gift-giving to a "love focus" with clutter-free gift giving.Clutter-free gift (CFG) giving is the act of gifting items that do not add more stuff (often unneeded) to the recipient's' homes. Many CFGs also let the person know you were truly thinking about their likes, passions and interests.
I offered these 5 areas to think about: Experiences, Donations, Time, Consumables, and Expressions of your love and gratitude.Moving down the list, today I will be sharing a sampling of Expressions of Love and Gratitude.
If you really want to touch someone, tell them why they are an important part of your life. Let them know how grateful you are for who they are, the work that they do, or how they have touched your life.
Too often in our everyday busy lives we let these thoughts and words go unspoken.
Too often in our everyday busy lives we let these thoughts and words go unspoken.
Here just handful of ideas that I hope will help you on the path to expressive CFG ideas.
- Write a letter or poem expressing your gratitude. I am going to try this with my children's teachers this year.
- Create a picture slide show on a DVD.
- Create a photo book or calendar using an online program such as http://www.winkflash.com/, http://www.snapfish.com/, http://www.shutterfly.com/, etc.
- Make a memory jar. Think of all the wonderful memories you share with the recipient and write them on individual slips of paper. Then, fold the slips and place them in a jar or container. The person who receives this gift chooses and reads one slip a day (or opens them all at once because they just can’t wait, as my mom did).
- Give the gift of forgiveness to someone you had a falling out with and give it to yourself as well.
P.S. To make it easy and convenient for you, I have decided to put all of these wonderful clutter-free gift giving ideas, plus many more into one beautiful guide. I will be sending out this special gift with my December Newsletter.If you would like to receive The Clutter-Free Gift Giving Guide, just go here to sign up for my free monthly newsletter or go to the sign -up box on the right side bar.
3 comments:
I'm giving three people, who have everything under the sun and are the most difficult people to buy for, photo books for Christmas. I love the entire concept of it - they're incredibly personal and thoughtful and unique!
Ok, I love the idea for the teacher. My 6 year old son has ADHD, and his teacher said something to me at a recent conference I needed to hear. She spoke to me not as a teacher, but as a mother. For that I will be forever grateful to her. But I have been wondering how will I thank her. Thanks Paula, I'll write a simple letter of appreciation and gratitude.
Great ideas! I like the memory jar & the gift of forgiveness. These types of things don't end up in a pile at the bottom of somebody's closet.
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