Holidays can be a joyful time. The holidays can sometimes, unfortunately, also be filled with stress and anxiety for those who are worried about money and their rising debt load.
Change Your Gift-Giving Mindset:
Did you know people actually prefer a thoughtful gift over an expensive one? A less expensive, yet very thoughtful gift, that says you know something about the person is almost always well receive and appreciated. For example, I LOVE IT when people get me McDonald’s gift certificates because they know I am addicted to their Diet Coke; or, when they get me a book or even an Amazon Kindle gift certificate because they know I love to read. I am not alone in this thinking. Verywellmind.com reports that when a person receives a gift, they are focused on the idea and thoughts the gift represents—not its cost.
Here are other examples of less expensive but memorable gifts:
A woman and her friend had a decade-long fight and they finally reconciled. The friend gave her a backspace button from his old manual typewriter mounted on a silver box with a note saying that he wished the button worked for everything. (oprah.com)
A young woman’s sister gave her a coffee cake made from her mother’s handwritten recipe, along with the original recipe card. (kellerhampton.com)
A young woman was gifted a plant taken from her deceased grandmother’s yard.
Another young woman received a photo book from a friend that featured their times together. (Scmp.com)
I once received a signed first edition of one of my favorite books from my wife Lisa. It wasn’t that the book was expensive, it was that she managed to track down the author and get his signature.
My wife Lisa loved a gift basket I made for her that included plants and gardening tools. She said it was the best gift I had ever given her.
I hope this list gets you thinking differently about gift-giving.
Have a joyful holiday season. Thank you all so much for subscribing and being a part of this wondrous journey. We wish you health, prosperity and happiness in this holiday season and beyond.
— Larry and Lisa Faulkner
