ALT-5 Good Gifting Spend Time instead of Money
It can be much more meaningful to a loved one or a friend when they receive a gift of your time instead of a material one. It is fairly easy to give someone a material gift but a gift of time involves thinking it through, deciding how to best present it and making it as well as the time involved to do what you have promised. This can mean so much to the person receiving the gift.
Many people find they are so busy throughout the year that they have not spent as much quality time with a loved one or friend as they should. Christmas can be a wonderful occasion to let someone know of your desire to spend more time with them.
Some of us have loved ones or friends who have experienced challenging circumstances during the year or near Christmas that require them to have more personal attention such as with an illness, accident or simply someone who is deserving of more personal attention. Offering your time as a gift can be greatly appreciated.
Some excellent ways to give another a gift of your time is by designing a coupon on the computer that can be printed, completed and given to the desired recipient. If you are giving time to a child you could make a coupon which states it can be redeemed for a certain amount of time to do anything of their choice together. You could also list a few choices for them to decide on.
If you have a friend who has recently given birth, a coupon for an evening out with their spouse while you provide loving child care can be greatly appreciated. For someone who has limited time or is suffering from an illness or accident, a coupon that can be used for house cleaning or other task is an excellent idea. You could give a gift of your time to someone you know who could use a little assistance with a project they have had difficulty with completing.
Giving a gift of time can be an excellent way for a child to give something to a parent or another family member. For older children this could consist of washing a car, mowing a lawn or helping with a project. The coupon could be for an extended amount of time such as for several months worth of lawn mowing.
For children who have been challenged in a particular area during the year such as not doing as well in school as they should, could give a parent a printed out promise of doing their very best with their school work. A spouse could give their wife or husband a coupon for a nice evening out. Perhaps a couple gift certificates could be included to their favorite restaurant or theater.
Put some thought and creativity into designing a coupon, promise or contract whether it be done by hand or on the computer. There are pre-made coupon booklets that are sold at card and novelty stores that could also be given. This would give the recipient a number of different choices to redeem the coupons for. They make them specifically for a spouse, child or friend.
Place the coupon, promise or contract in a box and wrap it nicely with lots of ribbons to give to the loved one or friend. You could use a very large box to place the item in or place it inside a small box, placing it in a bit larger box and so on. Then wrap it for the recipient to keep opening the different size boxes until they come to the gift.
There are many creative things you can do when giving someone a gift of your time. Put on your creative hat and have fun with it.
