Four gifts you can give to show your appreciation
Looking for the perfect way to let someone know you appreciate them? Here are four gift ideas to inspire you.
Doing things to improve the lives of others benefits both you and them. If you make an effort to support your coworkers or just brighten their day, your workplace will be more pleasant and you’ll work better as a team.
Showing appreciation to your family or friends can strengthen the bonds between all of you. These gestures are genuine gifts, whether or not they are tangible. To inspire you, here are four different ways to show your appreciation to friends, colleagues or family members.
1) Flowers
Subscriptions are a great way to remind people how much you care about them on a regular basis, and a flower subscription service can say that with a series of beautiful arrangements.
You can send these for holidays, birthdays, to say ‘thank you’ or ‘get well soon’, or even just because you’re thinking of someone. Sustainably sourced flowers that go from farm to door can help nature lovers feel truly connected even when they live in a city or can’t get out as often as they like, and every time they look at their arrangement, they are reminded of your care for them. Check out a flower subscription service, shop their selection online and make this a gift that gives throughout the year.
2) Listening
When someone tries to share something with you, how often are you truly listening? When you start to pay attention to your reaction, you might find that you are instead thinking about what you are going to say next or even thinking about something else entirely, only interjecting with generic platitudes instead of responding to what they are really saying.
You might also spend all your listening time thinking of ways to solve the person’s problem, which may not be what the person is looking for. Often, people simply want genuine commiseration, and when you start trying to fix things for them, you may well be suggesting things they have already tried. It’s usually best to ask someone if they want advice before offering it up unsolicited.
3) Time
If you have a friend who has a new baby or other heavy responsibilities or a family member who regularly performs a task that no one else wants to do, consider a gift of taking on some chores for a while. Is it your spouse who always does the dishes or mows the lawn? Give them some coupons that allow them to pass the task on to you a few times.
Make the new parent a batch of delicious and healthy freezer meals that they only need to pop in the oven or microwave and reheat. Even better, consider asking the person you want to help what you could take off their plate to improve their life.
4) Support
Do you have a family member who is training for a marathon, or a friend who is trying to write a novel? Maybe a young person in your family is applying for colleges or internships.
Whatever someone you care about is trying to do, find out how you can help. Maybe that’s turning up to offer water and snacks on your family member’s practice runs, reading drafts of your friend’s novel or introducing the young person to a mentor. This support can be invaluable to their success.
