The Five Gifts of Love

When we think of giving gifts, we usually think of things to buy for people. 

Yet if you think back on gifts you have been given, it might not be the material gifts you received that are foremost in your mind. It might be the kind of gift that deeply touched your heart and soul. It might be various ways, other than material things, that people expressed their love to you.

There are five gifts of love that we can give to our families that can make a huge difference in their lives.

THE GIFT OF CARING AND COMPASSION

We all yearn to feel cared for, yet many of us withhold caring and compassion for others. A profound gift we can give to our loved ones is to listen with our heart, to understand and accept rather than to judge, and to stay open to learning rather than to protect against being hurt.

Think about the last time someone actually listened to you and gave you understanding and acceptance. The feeling of being understood and accepted with caring and compassion is one of the best feelings in the world. Instead of focusing on getting this from others, why not focus on giving it to others? You might be surprised at how wonderful you feel in giving this gift to your family.

THE GIFT OF COURAGE

One of the best gifts we can give our loved ones is our own courage. This means being having the courage to stand in our truth, to be honest about what we want and don't want, what we will do and won't do, what is and what is not acceptable to us. It means having the courage to take good care of ourselves, even if others don't like it. It means not succumbing to our controlling behaviors that come from fear: anger, withdrawal, compliance, resistance, but instead being honest and above-board about ourselves. It means being willing to face conflict rather than give ourselves up to avoid it.

When we have the courage to face conflict and tell the truth, we not only provide our family with a role model for courage, but we provide opportunities for our loved ones to step up to the plate in the face of our truth and learn to be courageous too.

THE GIFT OF SERVICE

We are on this planet to learn to love ourselves and each other and to help each other. One of the best gifts we can give our family is to role model this by doing service. Helping others fills the heart and soul in ways that nothing else can. If children do not see their parents doing service and helping others, they may never learn the great joy and fulfillment that comes from giving. One of the best gifts we can give to our family is to provide ways of doing service.

THE GIFT OF CREATIVITY

All of us are born with various ways of expressing our creativity. Expressing creativity is a profound way of connecting with Spirit since expressed creativity is a direct expression of Spirit. Providing your family with many ways of expressing their creativity is a great gift. Creativity can be expressed in so many ways of cooking, crafts, building things, music, art, movement, telling stories, writing, humor, photography, and video; the possibilities are endless! Creative family projects are especially wonderful in creating family closeness.

THE GIFT OF LIGHTNESS OF BEING

The lightness of being; fun, joy, laughter, and playfulness is a great gift to give to others. The lightness of being is infectious. Our laughter and playfulness can help others take life less seriously and lighten up.

The lightness of being is one the results of all the other gifts of caring, courage, service, and creativity. When we give these gifts, we feel a wonderful lightness within, the lightness that is the result of fully giving from the heart. Our own lightness of being can bring lightness into our whole family. Children love it when their parents are playful, fun-loving, and joyful. Laughing together as a family is one of the most precious experiences in life.

We need to focus on giving these gifts each day, not just during a holiday season or special occasions. These gifts are far more important than any material thing we can buy for someone. In fact, we might not be so focused on material gifts if we frequently give the gift of love, caring, compassion, courage, service, creativity, and lightness of being.

Margaret Paul, Ph.D. is the best-selling author and co-author of eight books, including, "Do I Have To Give Up Me To Be Loved By You?". She is the co-creator of a powerful healing process called Inner Bonding. Learn Inner Bonding now! Visit her web site for a FREE Inner Bonding course: Inner Bonding 

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Christmas Gift Baskets for the Whole Family

This article offers gift basket ideas for families this holiday season.

Finding the perfect gift for everyone on your gift list doesn’t need to be an arduous task. A family gift basket eliminates the necessity of buying individual gifts, while still offering something that interests everyone. 

Shorten your Christmas shopping list, and give everyone on your list a gift they will enjoy at the same time. Rather than giving each family member a separate gift, send a creatively themed gift basket for the whole family. Think about each family’s interests, and use those interests as inspiration for your Christmas gift basket.

Christmas shopping doesn’t have to be a challenge. With themed gift baskets, you can reduce the number of gifts you have to buy, save money with our holiday discounts, plus give a thoughtful gift to those you love. At the same time, your gift basket will allow your recipients to spend some quality time together, whether they’re watching a DVD, cheering on their favorite or simply listening for reindeer paws.

Sports Fan Gift Baskets

If some of your friends and family members are avid sports fans, send a Christmas gift basket with that interest in mind. Whether they enjoy football, fishing, NASCAR, baseball, golf or other outdoor sports such as hunting, camping, etc. We are sure to have an appropriate sports gift basket for them.

Sweet Treats Christmas Baskets

Christmas gift basket filled with a variety of delicious fresh baked cookies, gourmet sweets and chocolates perfect for any family on your holiday shopping list. People of all ages enjoy holiday-themed desserts, candy, cookie and gourmet food basket so your gift is sure to be a hit among any family.

Our holiday gift baskets arrive wrapped in red, green or clear cellophane and tied with festive holiday-themed ribbons and ornaments. Holiday goodie baskets are delivered fresh for the family to enjoy. You just can't go wrong with a beautiful Christmas Gift Basket from Adorable Gift Baskets.

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Fabulous Gift Ideas for Fabulous Friends

It can sometimes be difficult to come up with great gift ideas for special friends. You want to give a gift that he or she is going to like or use and also a gift that isn't too expensive.

Adorable Gift Baskets is a wonderful resource for gift basket ideas and great gifts for every occasion. All you have to do is browse our website filled with unique gifts and beautiful gift baskets. If you are willing to spend a little time, you can find fabulous gift baskets and gifts to give for the holidays, birthdays, anniversaries and all gift giving occasions.

Below are several more gift ideas to consider:

Pay attention to things your friend might need. For example, if your friend complains about getting lost on vacation, a portable GPS unit might make a practical gift. Be aware of special events that are going on in your friend's life. If her son is getting married, she might like a beautiful personalized frame that she can put her son's wedding photo in.

You can hardly go wrong with personalized gifts. Many sites online offer customized items. Etsy and Zibbet are websites that offer very unique handmade products. Baby bibs, jewelry, blankets and dishes can be customized with a name and date. Custom portraits of your friend, her pets and house can make great gifts as well. Many of these items are affordable and very original.

Cafepress and Zazzle are two other sites that offer a large array of gift items from t-shirts, sweatshirts, mugs, aprons, cell phone cases, mousepads and stamps. You can find any design or subject to suit her fancy. On Zazzle, you can even customize the text on items to make them more personalized.

If your friend journals, buy her a diary to chronicle her life. You can even customize it by taking photographs of the both of you and decoupage them on the cover of the book. It's an easy process to do, and it can make a very meaningful gift.

Ebay has auctions on autograph photos, hats and trading cards. If she is a sport's fanatic, you can find plenty of memorabilia of her favorite athletes. If she likes celebrities, you can also find autograph pictures of these famous people. Of course you want to make sure that the signatures are authentic. There are lots of items that can be bought at reasonable prices.

Finally, offer a service instead of a gift if you want to do something different. If your friend is leaving on a trip to celebrate her anniversary, volunteer to take care of her house, yard and pets as part of a gift for her and her husband.

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