Carol Williams and Margaret Rome, two of our most creative Rainers, have invited us to participate in an Active Rain challenge and describe our gift for the person who has everything.
When wondering what gift to choose for relatives and friends, I often think of what their children will like and what could create a better experience for the parents with their kids. My gift to the child is a joy to the parents, too. Several years ago I gave the book "Beautiful Oops" to a two-and-a-half-year-old boy - it's a fun picture book that invites the reader to think what beautiful things can be created out of a mistake. We loved to look at the kid - when he got the book in his hands, he immediately and energetically opened it, tore a crumpled paper nose, that was sticking out of one of the pages and looked at us victoriously; then he started to look for ways to put it back. The author Barney Saltzberg shows the readers how a torn paper can be just the mouth of a crocodile drawing. Every spill has endless possibilities - it can be a happy dog, a bird and even an elephant. On the book cover Jamie Lee Curtis says about the book that anyone who has ever said the word "Oops" will be smiling. My smile was so much broader when, seven years later, my client, turned now friend, and the Mom of the gift recipient texted me the above picture - their new child has received the book from her older brother, and loved looking at it, and secretly "reading" it for hours, at age two.
For the person who has everything, I often look at a list of real luxuries, and pick an experience that will be something personal to them, related to:
🎁 more time and attention to them | 🎁 moments of awe from music, art, nature |
🎁 experiences to better their health | 🎁 meaningful conversations |
🎁 things bringing more peace of mind | 🎁 home-cooked meals |
🎁 reminders to slow the mornings | 🎁 travel |
The moments of discovering the gift for them are an enjoyable gift to myself, too.
Valesca Soares, Foot Rests, Photo Taken at Phoenix Art Museum, 2018
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