I am already thinking about the holidays and what I want them to look like. For the last couple of years, I have written notes in my day planner about how much I spent, what I did, and how I felt about the holiday in general. The goal is to move gracefully through the holidays, finding meaning, and having a connection to those I love. Gift giving is part of that. In the past, Mark and I did not always succeed at the whole gift-giving thing, for our kids or ourselves. As the years went on, we had more money to spend, but the gifts felt less thoughtful somehow.
Case in point: the Yeti blanket that I thought would be fun to keep in the truck to use at Highlands for picnics, or at wineries in case of limited seating. At $200 it was not a cheap purchase, but came with its own zippered case, making it totally portable. The minute he opened it he asked "what is this for?". In my defense we were all about the picnic-ing life at the time. Sipping a glass of wine, enjoying charcuterie, listening to music... These were things I enjoyed with him, so splurging on something that supported that activity seemed worthwhile. I think we used it once.
But it missed the mark as a gift, no pun intended.
So now, its my "lay out in the backyard sun by myself" blanket.
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I'm sure I'm not the only person who hasn't gotten the knack of gift-giving down over the years, and I think that's normal. I just want to enjoy the holidays with more intention. I want the people who I choose to spend time with know that they are important to me, and gifts are such a small part of that. But I would love it if they could be delighted, knowing I have given it some thought.
Gift giving in this day and time is hard, because it seems everyone already has SO much. In the past I made most and sometimes all my gifts, because that's all I could afford. Now I can afford it, but I still like to make things. Usually to my surprise, the things I work the hardest and longest on seem to go by the wayside quickly and the simple quick thing like a cloth gift bag is still being carried around 3 years later. It seems the homemade fabric cards with a worthy check in the mail have become memorable pieces for my family. All, including the farming grand son, are storing them away to be framed. So little things can be big things.
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