John Monfredo: A Different Kind of Holiday - Gifts of Love
Saturday, December 13, 2014
Family
Let’s start by giving your love to your family so wrap your arms around them and don’t let go for they are the real reason for the season. Try making homemade cards that express your feelings of love and respect for them. What you write and express in the card means more than any store bought card.
How about a holiday gathering at your house? Inviting people into your home is a gift in itself for there may be lonely neighbors or friends, relatives and children who would love to come over and enjoy a holiday get-together. Having everyone bring their favorite dessert could be a nice way of enjoying the time with holiday music and games.
Volunteer
During December or January consider volunteering for one day or evening at the senior center, animal shelter, food pantries, or at one of the social agencies. You could even volunteer to walk a neighbor’s dog or shovel a senior citizens walkway. A coupon gift could be given to the senior with the following statement – “Good for shoveling during the next snow storm.”
Holiday time is also about spending time with your relatives. Invite them to your home or go to their homes and share your joy with them. Wouldn’t it be nice if the grandchildren spent time with their grandparents and had quality time with them sharing their thoughts and asking their grandparents questions about how life was when they were growing up? To facilitate this, maybe spend the time watching a classic holiday movie such as It’s a Wonderful Life or Miracle on 34th Street. Not only are these heartwarming films, but they give children a glimpse into a world before cell phones and video games.
Homemade Gifts
Another gift idea is making homemade goodies and crafts for the holiday. Our city library has many books with low cost craft projects that one can do with the entire family. These are gifts that come from the heart and not the store. Gifts can range from baked goods to knitting/crochet projects or even home made photo albums. Another possibility is to give a collection of your favorite recipes to a friend who you know loves to cook.
The gift that counts the most in regards to your children is TIME! Try spending time with your child, instead of spending time looking for that perfect toy. Don’t fall into the trap of giving items off a list. Children will often be momentarily thrilled with that toy but spending time with your child is a much better present. It is the quality of our time together that is our real gift to each other. The visits and the meals and the table games that we have with one another are what counts. That being said, board games are wonderful gifts for children because they encourage family time.
Those in Need
During this holiday season let's remember the children who are in need. There are many out there who would love for an adult to just throw their arm around them and let them know they are loved and that they have people in their corner cheering for them. One of the ways to do that is to give a child a book. Many children do not read like they should and do not have the book selections in their own homes to read. Game systems and other opportunities are given many times before a book. Make giving a book a priority this holiday season.
Choose a book that gives a message of hope, inspiration, and encouragement. Children often times will read a book just because an adult, someone who they look up to gave it to them. Giving a gift of love like a book makes a child feel as if you care. They will open that book and read every word just because you gave it to them. Children may throw a lot of things away in their life, but books are kept. They are cherished. They are passed down to the next generation with a story behind it. Also, the book that you purchased for that special child consider sharing it by reading it together.
My favorite holiday activity would be if everyone did a kind deed as part of the giving process! Research shows that doing a good deed also helps people who witness this good deed! You can really help make the world a better place by practicing random acts of kindness. Go out of your way to be sure you do one good deed a day. Compliment and encourage others. Also, consider putting aside your hard feelings and reconnect with someone for whom you still hold a grudge. Call them up or send a friendly note to them as part of the healing process.
A must for the holiday is to practice smiling. A smile can be contagious - smile at the store clerks and the other shoppers in line. When you encounter grumpy people, resist being pulled into their negativity and try to spread your positive attitude. Make a game of it and see how many smiles you can get each day. Keep people guessing for many will be wondering why you’re always smiling!
Give the gift of love this season. Remember, sometimes, the simplest gifts are the ones to be cherished for a lifetime. Readers, I’d love to hear from you as to what gifts of love you passed out this holiday season. E-mail me at [email protected].
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