Having trouble getting a gift for someone on your list? The answer is easier than you might think!
My daughter used to say that it was impossible to buy something for me on my birthday or at Christmas. I never understood that because I always love giving gifts. It’s one of my favorite things to do. Since gifts are my love language, it’s a natural thing for me.
It’s not her love language. It doesn’t come easily for her. Not because she doesn’t want to give me something but because she wants to give me the right thing. And she could never seem to figure out what that was. Buying gifts just seemed to bring stress. It took her a long time to realize that there couldn’t be a wrong thing!
Her breakthrough moment came with pumpkin pecan butter. She is an exceptional cook. She is also an artist, so even her presentation of food is exquisite. We had been at a restaurant, and they had pumpkin pecan butter (my favorite) and apple butter (my Mom’s favorite). She decided that day to create a signature recipe for both.
That year, not only did she make the absolute best butters you have ever tasted, but she also managed to get them beautifully packaged and shipped from Oklahoma to Texas.
Imagine our surprise and delight, opening that special package. My Mom and I both said that those boxes were one of our favorite gifts of all time! That’s when she fully understood.
It’s not how much money you spend or shopping for just the right thing. It’s giving of ourselves in our unique way to someone else. It’s paying attention to them and what brings a smile to their face and providing them a moment where that happens.
When we pay attention, we can discover what will do just that, and it makes giving gifts so much more meaningful to the one that gives and the one that receives.
As we come into these final days of shopping and wrapping and getting ready for the grand unveiling of this year’s gifts, let’s all bear that in mind.
What can we give that will bring a smile? What can we give that will show someone that we truly see them? What can we give that celebrates them and what they mean to us? Those questions will lead us to a far different exchange! And memories that will never leave us.
