Appreciation: 12th Day of Christmas

I hope you've enjoyed this series of gift suggestions. Today is the last one. I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

On the 12th Day of Christmas, my gift suggestion to you is something that won't cost you anything except the price of a postage stamp, but it's more valuable to the recipient and to you, the giver, than anything you can imagine.

The suggestion is to write a letter to someone you really care about and whom you take for granted. Now is the time to show them that you care. You can make a list. Chances are that you may have a lot of people in your life that fits this description.

A letter to someone you love that tells that person what's in your heart is powerful because it requires you to really think and to express those thoughts and amorphous feelings with specific words.

It's easy to plunk money down and buy something. It's harder to try to tell someone how much you love them or, if the letter is to an employee or employer, why you appreciate and respect them.

Years ago, our daughter wrote a letter to her dad because she didn't have enough money to buy him something cool. In it, she told him specifically what he had done over the years that made her think he was a great dad and made her feel loved and secure. My husband still has her letter, framed and hanging in his study. He says it's the greatest gift he ever received from her.

Takeaway Truth

Gifts bought in a store wear out, break, and lose their appeal. A gift of words, spoken from the heart, can last forever.