this is one of my favorite gifts from last christmas {from emily}.
a french grammar book that is falling apart
in the most charming and elegant way.
in the most charming and elegant way.
i've been thinking a lot about gift giving, but in a new way.
last december, two things happened that really changed they way i think about gifts.
one of those things was a gift exchange with 22 other women across the united states. women i love, but have never met. {one of them is coming to visit me next week!} our gift exchange had six categories {leopard, holiday, nature, candle, book, tray} and a $20.00 limit. it was like an imaginative scavenger hunt, and "shopping" for it was so much fun. in the box i sent, i included a birdnest {found on the ground} for the nature category. we even shared the fun of unwrapping by sharing photos of our boxes. it was a revelation for me. it was everything i love about holiday giving. {and we've had three more gift exchanges since then.}
the other thing that happened was that i read the article, honey, guess what i got you for christmas?, by susan dominus. {real simple 12/09, p. 254} the author explains a new tradition of giving between her and her husband. instead of buying gifts, they searched their home for treasures to give each other. the idea was born as an effort of frugality, but turned out to be so much more fun, more creative, and more meaningful than simply buying gifts, that they aren't ever going back. here is as excerpt:
I came to see that some things should be wrapped and examined regularly, the better to appreciate them...that screwdriver, which we use to replace the batteries in the kids' toys, would be revealed as more than just a tool; it would be a symbol of all the joy and frustrations of parenthood, a shorthand joke {we} would both immediately get. Same goes for the two wrapped matchboxes saved from the restaurants where we had had our very first dates...Despite the fact that they had been gathering dust in a junk drawer for years, I knew {he} would find them (and the gesture) romantic.
another revelation.
have you had gift-giving revelations?
are you doing things differently this year?
i would love to hear your ideas.
♥
have you had gift-giving revelations?
are you doing things differently this year?
i would love to hear your ideas.
♥
4 comments:
My Sweet, Sweet, Oh-So-Treasured Catie,
Thank you for this wonderful post. It has actually brought me to tears today...(it has been an emotional one for me, and THIS, ....this....loving and beautiful post, has brought me to my 'spiritual knees'....(Thank you for that, really.)
How BLESSED I feel, to be a part of the amazing and 'wonder-FULL' scavenger hunt-gift exchange...from last Christmas and beyond...with the other 21 incredible woman-spirits who were a part of it. And THANK YOU for sharing that part of the story from Real Simple 2009....it has opened my eyes and heart ...even more.. this day. I love you Catie bug....always.. San
I feel so grateful to be one of the blessed 22 women! I have to agree that it was so much fun Catie! ♥
I completely agree....after our gift exchange last year, I think completely different about the kinds of gifts to exchange...it was a truly heartfelt experience, and I cannot wait to do it again...xoxo
Lynn and I started years ago to buy one small thing, and make one homemade gift for each other.
It was really special and much more meaningful.
Now, we plan a getaway together. Even if it's just for one night. We also have one night a year to talk about our goals for the next year and write them down.
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