The Best Gift You Can Give

Are you still looking for a perfect gift for someone special on your list? Or feel you would like to add more meaning to the gifts you are giving? Want to give a gift that will be a lasting memory?

When I was transitioning from a consistent income to an entrepreneurial start up that would take time to build to the income I was leaving, Christmas was only a few months away. The majority of what I earned was going back into the business and as the holiday approached, I was grateful I had set aside some presents earlier because I would not be able to purchase more right then.

I gathered my family together and told them that this year we would give Gifts of Love—in other words, they would not cost money (or very little), instead it could be gifts of our time and/or our talents. This is undoubtedly one of my most meaningful Christmas experiences and something I like to add in to our family gatherings. My daughter wrote a song for me and performed it and she gave her dad a big bowl of cookie dough that he could eat all by himself.

What Gifts of Love could you give? Write or voice record your memory of a child's birth and the special feelings you had? Or a letter or voice recording telling someone how much they have inspired you and influenced your life? What about your time? Could you gift them with a certificate for lunch/dinner with you or a hike together or whatever you both would enjoy--quality time for just the two of you? What can you generously give that is from your heart to theirs--a gift that says, "I see you. I love you."?