The Perfect Gift

Image via WikipediaEvery year at this time everyone seems to be searching for the perfect gift. It's most difficult to buy for the "person who has everything" or for someone who has no hobbies, extra curricular activities or interests that you can address. You can certainly buy the usual clothing items from pajamas to shirts, ties to sweaters but most people will agree those leave little to remind anyone of a truly memorable Christmas.

But what if you could find the perfect gift for someone and it would make a huge difference in their lives because of it?It certainly would take the stress out of finding "something special" for "someone special". In this economy, many people feel disappointed that they may be unable to provide friends and family with special gifts, but maybe the perfect gift has truly been the one you never have to stand in line for, dodge countless shoppers or run frantically from store to store to obtain...why not give the gift of yourself?

Image by pixiepic's via FlickrMany years ago when my husband and I had little money and less job security, we created coupon books to use throughout the year for everything from a free haircut to a surprise weekend excursion. We loved them so much that we continue to give them every year. I love looking in my coupon book and finding one that says, "I'll do the laundry any week you need extra time." or " Good for an afternoon adventure antiquing and dinner at your favorite place."  Another year, in between jobs and with three small children, we elected to celebrate on the 25th of each month instead of all on Christmas. So, every 25th we would exchange gifts. To be honest, I look forward to those traditions much more than gifts on Christmas day. It is like celebrating Christmas year round rather than squeezing it into a few weeks in December.


Surely you know someone who could use  your services to chauffeur them to necessary appointments, help them plant their garden next Spring, do repairs around their home, create a special music CD, mend some clothing or shop for them regularly. Maybe the person who has everything really needs someone to have dinner with regularly or someone who will come visit for an afternoon, or take their car to get the oil changed or address envelopes for them or simply walk their pets. It's easy to forget that some of the most meaningful gifts don't come from shelves in stores or online catalogs.

Take care of  children for a couple who needs a break, teach a youngster how to do a craft, make a memory book for someone with comments from friends and families and photographs for them to look at forever. Sometimes our best memories are not what comes in boxes but what comes with no strings attached. Recently a friend of mine told me her best Christmas gift was when she was 12 and her mother gave her a homemade gift certificate for weekly knitting lessons just for her (she had  2 other younger sisters). She told me that time with her mother was the high point of her week and her mother made certain her siblings were taken care of by someone else or had other plans so she got her mom's undivided attention. She still knits today and has taught her own child the same. The gift of time was priceless in what it meant to her and the tradition it created.


Don't look any further for the perfect gift. You are probably what it is. Whether you can offer your time to someone who needs assistance or your talent to someone who would love to learn what you could share, it will be unmatched by anything store bought and certainly will always be a perfect fit.


Anyone can buy the best DVD player or the most fashionable outfit...only you can be your gift.