Merry Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa semi-belatedly! And a fabulous New Years Eve to all! Yeah yeah, I wasn't able to squeeze in all ten gifts before the celebration of gift-giving officially ended, but in my eyes it's STILL the holidays and it's never to early to plan for next year!
And speaking of next year, here's a good idea: start a holiday journal! My mom started one a billion years ago (I kid, mom)...but really, it was before my time I think (thirty long long years ago). Anyway, each year she started with Thanksgiving and worked her way through the holidays, describing events, meals, Christmassy outings, gifts, etc.
But Katie, I'm like twenty years into my marriage, what's the point of keeping track now?
A holiday journal is a pretty snazzy thing to pass down from generation to generation, I say! Just think of the time capsule-esque capabilities! "Wow, look here, in Christmas of 1994, you got all sorts of Magic the Gathering stuff...where did all that end up?!" It's always fun to remember what kinds of gifts people asked for, what sorts of odd phases they were into over the years. It's also fun to look back and laugh about the things that went wrong! Like when the family hamster escaped into the crawl space and died, but no one noticed the smell until Christmas morning when dad forgot that he had hid mom's new blender in there.
But Katie, I don't want to stop at just a holiday journal! What more can I do?!
I'm glad you asked! This year my sister undertook QUITE the endeavor for one of her boyfriend's Christmas gifts. She kept a relationship journal all year long, documenting their dates and various day-to-day moments. They started dating in September of 2008, so the entirety of 2009 was the majority of their relationship. So basically a sort of Year One memory log. Indeed, as I said, quite the endeavor. But maybe kind of a fun idea for those of you who love to write. It doesn't even have to be an every day journal, but just important dates and memorable moments. Like when he surprised you with a love note on page 189 of the medical text book that put you guys in the poor house. Or when she decoupaged a nightstand with Hitchcock posters for your birthday. The receiver of this relationship journal will get to look back on all that fun stuff and ways in which he or she really made you happy. On the other hand, you could also use the journal to discuss times when perhaps you got into an argument over where to keep the paper towel roll, but you solved the issue in a loving and appropriate manner. When you write about problems, it provides a constructive place to hash them out and often gives you more incentive to solve them too. Obviously you may not want to bash your wife on paper and then give it to her on an anniversary, but if you're constructive and positive and discuss how you solved the issue in the aforementioned loving and appropriate manner, it'll be a great tool to use for the future. Orrrrr maybe it'll just rip open old wounds, I don't know, I'm not a psychologist. Just write some stuff down, be funny, be cool, be generous with your kind words, and be grateful for the great moments you share.
Showing posts with label the written word. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the written word. Show all posts
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Friday, December 18, 2009
Holiday Gift #5: Scavenger Hunt
This holiday season is probably pretty tight for virtually everyone. Perhaps you feel really bad about getting your boyfriend a pair of boxers, a mix cd, and that's about it. Well it's time to turn this seemingly ho hum gift pack into a crazy little adventure!
We've definitely arrived at the "five golden rings" portion of our list because this one is truly tops. You can get as simple as you want or seriously blow it out the box with this gift. Last year I put together a little hunt for my sister's new boyfriend and it included cheese and some lip balm! And a friend of mine just put a hunt together for his girlfriend that included a walk through the gorgeous Christmas lights display in the neighborhood park and drinks 23 floors up overlooking the city.
Either way, as cliché as it sounds, it's definitely the thought that counts and any time you have to think up clever clues, c'mon that's a whole lotta thought right?! And the clues are key. Reach way down deep on this one and get your creativity on. Stay local but slightly bizarre and hide clues in places according to your girlfriend's bathroom routine. Branch out but stay classic and leave clues at all your favorite bars and restaurants. What do I always say people? All together now! "The possibilities are endless!"
So you get the picture. Obviously scavenger hunts work year round, for any occasion, for no occasion at all, and for absolutely anyone from your 3 year old niece to your 83 year old grandpa. I honestly think we don't have enough scavenger hunts in our lives, so let's all get on this thing!
We've definitely arrived at the "five golden rings" portion of our list because this one is truly tops. You can get as simple as you want or seriously blow it out the box with this gift. Last year I put together a little hunt for my sister's new boyfriend and it included cheese and some lip balm! And a friend of mine just put a hunt together for his girlfriend that included a walk through the gorgeous Christmas lights display in the neighborhood park and drinks 23 floors up overlooking the city.
Either way, as cliché as it sounds, it's definitely the thought that counts and any time you have to think up clever clues, c'mon that's a whole lotta thought right?! And the clues are key. Reach way down deep on this one and get your creativity on. Stay local but slightly bizarre and hide clues in places according to your girlfriend's bathroom routine. Branch out but stay classic and leave clues at all your favorite bars and restaurants. What do I always say people? All together now! "The possibilities are endless!"
So you get the picture. Obviously scavenger hunts work year round, for any occasion, for no occasion at all, and for absolutely anyone from your 3 year old niece to your 83 year old grandpa. I honestly think we don't have enough scavenger hunts in our lives, so let's all get on this thing!
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Holiday Gift #4: Blurb
"What will your book be?" Blurb is a sweet little site where you can create sweet little bookstore-quality books of your own. It takes scrapbooking and photo albums to a whole new level. You can use their BookSmart® software, or your own fave designing program from which you simply upload a pdf. Long gone are the days of paying millions for a wedding album. Long gone are the days of shoving 4x6 glossies into plastic sleeves. You can use your own creativity to make a gift even more unique and personal.
But I don't take photos...I just write short stories and poems.
They print those too!
This sounds crazy expensive!
Not necessarily. The aforementioned strictly B/W text book at 20-40 page, softcover, 5"x8" book costs a mere $4.95. And a 7"x7" softcover photo book is just $12.95. It's really pretty comparable to buying a book in a bookstore, only it's a book YOU FREAKING MADE YOURSELF!!!
A photo album is practically instantaneous. I'll have to wait like two months for my book to print.
Nope, 7-10 biz days.
Omg but Christmas is like TOMORROW!! I don't have time for this!!
Oh you'll MAKE time. Pull an all-nighter, pay the pretty high shipping costs, and order your book tomorrow and you'll get it by Christmas Eve!
No, but seriously just think of the possibilities! Make a family cookbook complete with recipes and photos! Scan in your kids' drawings and keep them forever in one fabulous place! Put together a sappy story of your relationship and be sure to include "Will You Marry Me?" on the last page!
Seriously...endless. I've been eyeing up Blurb for quite some time now. I could do anything, I have so many super rad ideas! But I'm sure my first stab at it will commence the addiction.
Even after Christmas is long over, keep this one in your back pocket. It'll be absolutely perfect for those far-too-frequent moments where you sigh and shrug: "What the heck am I going to get YOU this year?!"
As Blurb so rightly states:
Best. Gift. Ever.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
'Tis the Season...
...but how the heck am I going to pay for it?! Well, cheap and/or homemade gifts don't have to be cliché and lame. If you truly put some thought into them, something that cost you $5 to put together could mean more than that shiny new PS3. Or at least Even Stevens.
Today is December 1st, and more or less the beginning of the Christian celebration of Advent. Advent has been non-religiousized over the years, however, when retail stores found they could market Advent calendars as a basic--and delicious--way to countdown to the big 25. Hanukkah and Kwanza and even the Winter Solstice are non-Christian ways to celebrate the season as well. What's my point? Well whatever your faith or nonfaith, for the next month, I'm going to celebrate a random "Ten Days of Holiday Cheer" (choosing "ten" because it rests gently between the 12 Days of Christmas and 8 Crazy Nights). In these upcoming ten posts, I'll discuss a fun, and hopefully less cliché, cheap and/or homemade holiday gift to unveil to your loved one (and again, all of these work just as well for brothers as they do boyfriends!)
I shall begin with...
Gift Number One: The Coupon Book.
Yes, this would be the lamest of the homemade gifts, but as I just suggested, it doesn't have to be if you put some personalized thought into it. Forget the coupons for backrubs, BJs, and bubble baths. Be creative! How about a free oil change?! Ok, not creative per se, but one gloomy Saturday afternoon at the next 5K mile mark, the love of your life may or may not find herself unemployed and that free oil change, while not necessarily the most romantic gesture in the world, could really help her out of a small jam. Or how about a coupon that states: "YOU make the coffee!" He's been dragging himself out of bed every morning for the past five years to make YOU coffee before work. Imagine the laughter in his eyes when you offer your coffee-making services for once!
Now here's a little secret: At the end of the day, what the Coupon Book REALLY does is influence a sense of empathy for the person you love. It allows you to, for a moment, walk a mile in his or her shoes and imagine the kinds of things that would make life a little easier. It encourages you think about ways in which you could help more--and because positives lead to more positives--vise verse. Because basically it all comes down to the little things in life. Sometimes the most seemingly unromantic gestures can totally make a person's day, week, month, or year! Whether it's doing the grocery shopping that week or offering a ride to work or school, it is kind and helpful, and that is always romantic. Coupon books can be funny little ways to say: Hey, I recognize that you do so much for me, so let me return the favor. Who knows? Maybe in time, you won't even need coupons at all ;)
Today is December 1st, and more or less the beginning of the Christian celebration of Advent. Advent has been non-religiousized over the years, however, when retail stores found they could market Advent calendars as a basic--and delicious--way to countdown to the big 25. Hanukkah and Kwanza and even the Winter Solstice are non-Christian ways to celebrate the season as well. What's my point? Well whatever your faith or nonfaith, for the next month, I'm going to celebrate a random "Ten Days of Holiday Cheer" (choosing "ten" because it rests gently between the 12 Days of Christmas and 8 Crazy Nights). In these upcoming ten posts, I'll discuss a fun, and hopefully less cliché, cheap and/or homemade holiday gift to unveil to your loved one (and again, all of these work just as well for brothers as they do boyfriends!)
I shall begin with...
Gift Number One: The Coupon Book.
Yes, this would be the lamest of the homemade gifts, but as I just suggested, it doesn't have to be if you put some personalized thought into it. Forget the coupons for backrubs, BJs, and bubble baths. Be creative! How about a free oil change?! Ok, not creative per se, but one gloomy Saturday afternoon at the next 5K mile mark, the love of your life may or may not find herself unemployed and that free oil change, while not necessarily the most romantic gesture in the world, could really help her out of a small jam. Or how about a coupon that states: "YOU make the coffee!" He's been dragging himself out of bed every morning for the past five years to make YOU coffee before work. Imagine the laughter in his eyes when you offer your coffee-making services for once!
Now here's a little secret: At the end of the day, what the Coupon Book REALLY does is influence a sense of empathy for the person you love. It allows you to, for a moment, walk a mile in his or her shoes and imagine the kinds of things that would make life a little easier. It encourages you think about ways in which you could help more--and because positives lead to more positives--vise verse. Because basically it all comes down to the little things in life. Sometimes the most seemingly unromantic gestures can totally make a person's day, week, month, or year! Whether it's doing the grocery shopping that week or offering a ride to work or school, it is kind and helpful, and that is always romantic. Coupon books can be funny little ways to say: Hey, I recognize that you do so much for me, so let me return the favor. Who knows? Maybe in time, you won't even need coupons at all ;)
Thursday, November 5, 2009
The plot thickens.
You know what's free? Writing something on a piece of paper.
This isn't a cop-out. There's a reason I chose to design the above banner in such a fashion. Love letters, like letters, circle-yes-or-no letters, emails, snail-mails, texts, Facebook comments, Post-it notes, matchbooks, frosty windows, it DOESN'T MATTER! We love, love, LOVE getting stuff with stuff written on it. Ok maybe we love getting 2.61" x 6.14" pieces of paper the color of the foamy sea during a late afternoon thunderstorm, adorned with the heads of political figures and many zeros. But when those are few and far between, the back of a Chinese menu with an I, a heart, and a U may just do the trick.
Honestly though, it really goes back to middle school when we'd fold up notebook paper into the shape of tiny triangles and shove them into the slats of lockers. Didn't it, like, totally make your day? Finding those tiny triangles was like finding precious, precious gold. ESPECIALLY if it was from the hot eighth grader...sighhhh if only. Nowadays, we have our inboxes open 24/7 just in case something particularly fun and surprising comes through. The lovely late '90s romantic comedy featuring the adorable, but feisty Meg Ryan, and the hilarious, but cozy Tom Hanks hit home for a reason (you may or may not be dead inside if you don't cry when she sees Brinkley come over the hill). Its 1940 counterpart did the same thing only old school. Bring back the old school. Hand-written correspondence--particularly of the romantic variety--is something we long for day in and day out.
So I majorly digress. My question is: Would you like to make the best person in the world really really happy right now? Write something. Better yet, write something and hide it somewhere they'll find it. Cereal box, running shoe, car visor, page 189 of a novel they're reading, page 189 of the medical text book that put you guys in the poor house. It's like seriously the simplest, most awesome thing ever. Here's a story of my own: the BF went out of town for the week and asked me to water his plants and take care of his cats (guys with cats are rad by the by). I found a quarter-folded piece of paper taped to the watering can. Even just seeing "Katie" scribbled on the front of it made my heart go all wonky. See???
Ok sure, I may be super easy to please or something. But at the end of the day, less is more (ah yes!) We all love to hear we are loved, and when someone takes the extra time to be creative about it, it means that much more. So trust me on this one. Jot down something sweet and stick it in the frig-drawer full of cold cuts already!
This isn't a cop-out. There's a reason I chose to design the above banner in such a fashion. Love letters, like letters, circle-yes-or-no letters, emails, snail-mails, texts, Facebook comments, Post-it notes, matchbooks, frosty windows, it DOESN'T MATTER! We love, love, LOVE getting stuff with stuff written on it. Ok maybe we love getting 2.61" x 6.14" pieces of paper the color of the foamy sea during a late afternoon thunderstorm, adorned with the heads of political figures and many zeros. But when those are few and far between, the back of a Chinese menu with an I, a heart, and a U may just do the trick.
Honestly though, it really goes back to middle school when we'd fold up notebook paper into the shape of tiny triangles and shove them into the slats of lockers. Didn't it, like, totally make your day? Finding those tiny triangles was like finding precious, precious gold. ESPECIALLY if it was from the hot eighth grader...sighhhh if only. Nowadays, we have our inboxes open 24/7 just in case something particularly fun and surprising comes through. The lovely late '90s romantic comedy featuring the adorable, but feisty Meg Ryan, and the hilarious, but cozy Tom Hanks hit home for a reason (you may or may not be dead inside if you don't cry when she sees Brinkley come over the hill). Its 1940 counterpart did the same thing only old school. Bring back the old school. Hand-written correspondence--particularly of the romantic variety--is something we long for day in and day out.
So I majorly digress. My question is: Would you like to make the best person in the world really really happy right now? Write something. Better yet, write something and hide it somewhere they'll find it. Cereal box, running shoe, car visor, page 189 of a novel they're reading, page 189 of the medical text book that put you guys in the poor house. It's like seriously the simplest, most awesome thing ever. Here's a story of my own: the BF went out of town for the week and asked me to water his plants and take care of his cats (guys with cats are rad by the by). I found a quarter-folded piece of paper taped to the watering can. Even just seeing "Katie" scribbled on the front of it made my heart go all wonky. See???
Ok sure, I may be super easy to please or something. But at the end of the day, less is more (ah yes!) We all love to hear we are loved, and when someone takes the extra time to be creative about it, it means that much more. So trust me on this one. Jot down something sweet and stick it in the frig-drawer full of cold cuts already!
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