Gift-giving has taken a different turn in my lifetime with the use of online registries and gift cards. Don't get me wrong. I sometimes take advantage of these gift-giving short cuts and sometimes I'm relieved to have them as an option. But sometimes I feel frustrated that these options aren't as personal.
One of by girlfriends does something that I really like. She has a favorite charity that means the world to her. When she has to give a gift, she gives an amount in honor of the gift recipient. It is such a wonderful idea and I'm always touched when I receive a special card letting me know I was honored in such a way. At my age there is not much I need so it is perfect. This option is great though it might not work in every circumstance.
My sister starts her Christmas shopping in July (you know many stores have special sales then to support the early support this effort), to give her time to take advantage of sales and to make sure she has time to think about each person as she does her shopping.
Today as I was walking in the front door of my house I was reminded of a special gift. It is a silver box which was given to me by a very special family member. My husband is Lebanese and on my very first trip to Lebanon we visited there for three months (those were the days!). It was wonderful in that I was able to get to know all of the in-laws, friends of the family, cousins and habits of their day-to-day. During that time I would go out shopping a lot. One day as I decided to go out shopping, I mentioned where I was headed to one particular family member. Without me knowing, she called ahead of me and asked the shopkeeper to keep an eye on me to see if there was anything I really wanted but didn't buy. I went to this little silver shop and fell in love with so many things but one item that I couldn't get off my mind was a silver box.
I wanted a box for my jewelry and I thought this box was perfect. It was beautiful and if I stopped using it for jewelry, it was beautiful enough to be an item of decor and certainly it could be used for keepsakes. Here's the catch - it was silver and way too expensive. Never in a million years would I have paid that kind of money for such an item for myself.
Wouldn't you know the very next day a gift showed up at our place and what do you know - it was the silver box! Honestly it was one of the most thoughtful gifts that I'd ever received. Every time I walk past the box I'm reminded of the thoughtfulness which means as much as the gift itself.
In this hectic, electronic, world where artificial intelligence is moving faster than we even realize, it's nice to sometimes take our time thinking about the gift recipient to make our gift unforgettable.
How do you personalize the gifts you give?
One of by girlfriends does something that I really like. She has a favorite charity that means the world to her. When she has to give a gift, she gives an amount in honor of the gift recipient. It is such a wonderful idea and I'm always touched when I receive a special card letting me know I was honored in such a way. At my age there is not much I need so it is perfect. This option is great though it might not work in every circumstance.
My sister starts her Christmas shopping in July (you know many stores have special sales then to support the early support this effort), to give her time to take advantage of sales and to make sure she has time to think about each person as she does her shopping.
Today as I was walking in the front door of my house I was reminded of a special gift. It is a silver box which was given to me by a very special family member. My husband is Lebanese and on my very first trip to Lebanon we visited there for three months (those were the days!). It was wonderful in that I was able to get to know all of the in-laws, friends of the family, cousins and habits of their day-to-day. During that time I would go out shopping a lot. One day as I decided to go out shopping, I mentioned where I was headed to one particular family member. Without me knowing, she called ahead of me and asked the shopkeeper to keep an eye on me to see if there was anything I really wanted but didn't buy. I went to this little silver shop and fell in love with so many things but one item that I couldn't get off my mind was a silver box.
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| Notice the beautiful detail inside the box (and I added my ladybug pen which I bought in 1966) |
How do you personalize the gifts you give?
