5 Meaningful Gifts for Your Loved Ones

We often think about gifts of love as big gestures with an even bigger price tag; but most meaningful gifts are those from the heart. 

Think about the epic scene of John Cusack holding the boom box in the movie, Say Anything, it's the gesture itself that pulls our heartstrings.

Here are 5 Meaningful Gifts you can give your loved ones:

1. Texts of admiration.

I once sent a friend forty texts of everything I loved about her throughout her fortieth birthday. I'd pre-written all my messages in a notebook so I could just enjoy delivering them throughout the day. A showering of love, so to speak. She told me later that it gave her so much to look forward to and brightened her day!

2. Art (painting, song, comic book, flower arrangement, quilt, poem). 

You may have hidden talents that no one sees but those closest to you. Don't leave them hidden. Use your gifts to create a special work of art for the ones you love. Include things in your gift that interests your friend or loved one. No matter what kind of art you create, it can be personalized to let them know how much they mean to you.

3. Scrapbook

A scrapbook can be made with ready-made materials you have on hand OR with creative materials. You can create a front and back cover from cereal boxes or any hard objects. Use various materials for the middle "pages" (foil, post-its, fabric, scraps of paper, notebook paper ~ get creative). Place photos you have on hand or print some paper ones. If you don't have photos, you could draw "photos" or even stick people sketches with subtitles at the bottom to tell your stories. Write short messages throughout the scrapbook of memories or sweet thoughts about your loved one.

4. Re-create a Special Moment

Like the girls in Parent Trap, use what you have to re-create a special moment from the past that you and your loved one shared. Maybe cook a meal and/or decorate the room. Leave them clues about what moment it was or notes on how special that moment was to you.

5. Love Letter

Simply write a beautiful love letter. Tell the person one reason why they are special to you and how they've impacted your life. It doesn't have to be decorative, your words will mean enough. But if you want to get fancy, you could study word-lettering or calligraphy to create your message with a flourish.

It doesn't have to be hard to let someone know how much you care about them, and it certainly doesn't need a big price tag.

We don't have to clutter our homes with more stuff, we can give experiences and tender expressions to make our appreciation known. So whether you're gifting a spouse, sibling, child or friend, remember, it's the actual thought that counts!

Which one of these would be fun for YOU to receive?

My Simple Advice on Talking to Teens

As soon as a child is handed over to your care, you quickly learn how much you've yet to learn. I've crashed and burned so many times on this parenting path; but each lesson has been worth the bumps. Today, in honor of my eldest daughter's birthday, I thought I'd share some tips I've learned about talking with your teen. If you're parenting, aunting/uncling, mentoring or teaching children on the brink of teen-hood, I hope this'll give you a helpful start.

Don't talk, listen.
When my firstborn hit puberty, I wasn't listening very much. I wrongly assumed she didn't want to talk since she holed up in her room most of the time listening to music. But a wise friend pointed out that I should try being around, and that's when it all switched. I sat on my daughter's bed and just hung out. At first it was awkward and uncomfortable for us. She asked if I needed something. I told her I just wanted to spend time with her. Then I got quiet. *crickets* After a bit of silence, she began to chat about her music. Soon we were lounging on the bed side by side as she shared an earbud with me chatting about why she liked certain songs. That day I discovered it wasn't that she didn't want to talk; it was that I hadn't been listening. Don't assume your child doesn't want you around even if they're giving off that vibe.

Own your wrongs.
Teens are different than children, their growing cognitive ability makes it easy to see our faults and failings. When my teens started questioning me or reacting to a way I was acting, my first instinct was to blame them. I saw their actions as disrespectful or disobedient. But soon I realized they were simply more aware that I wasn't perfect. When I spoke with impatience or anger, they knew it wasn't right and their defenses went up. Once I started owning my wrongs and asking forgiveness immediately, I found their trust in me begin to rise. They were able to be honest about how I hurt them so we could repair the relationship. Being a parent is humbling in this way, it mirrors back your struggles. But owning our wrongs is the best way to demonstrate how to live an honest life.

Get interested in their interests.
This is a tough one. My girls like music I don't always like. Being interested in that is difficult. But I've found that usually there is something I can appreciate about what they love, even if it's just appreciating why they are passionate about it. My son became much more talkative when I began to sit with him among his Lego creations. People want to be known and loved for who they are, children are no different. This is one way to love them sacrificially and care about what they care about. I've been astounded at what this one step has taught me about my kid's hearts.

Let them teach you.
I know this sounds backwards, we're supposed to be the teachers, right? But there's so much your child may know that you don't. I've found when I allow my children to teach me something I may not know (often computer related) I also learn something about them. I've found them to be patient teachers (most of the time) and it shows that I value their opinion if I'm willing to listen to their lessons. It seems easier for them to listen to me when I've been a good student.

Be honest.
There were some things I wasn't allowing my kids to do that seemed confusing to them. I finally sat them down and shared honest stories from my past and why those particular activities were difficult for me to allow. Having the story behind the decision helped my reasons make sense; even if they didn't completely agree. I'm not necessarily an advocate of children knowing reasons behind every decision, but I think it's good to share as often as we can at this age.

What tips would you offer your parents if you could travel back to your teen years and advise them?

How to Find Your Tweet's URL

Need to know your tweet's URL to enter a cool giveaway or to share with someone? It's easy peasy.

1. Tweet your fabulous tweet.
2. Go to your Twitter profile page.
3. Click the Open button.
4. Click the Details button.
5. Now copy what is in the URL above, that's your code!

I said it was easy, didn't I?

How to Add a Signature Link in Comments

Let me share a simple way to add a signature link to your comments so others can find you. When you leave a comment on someone's post they'll more than likely want to see your blog (I know I do). A signature link makes it easy to find you. It saves several time-wasting steps of going to your profile and hunting for the blog site and/or figuring out which blog is the main one. Karen Amanda Hooper taught me how to do this, thanks Karen!

1. First you need a code. Don't run away, it's not complicated; I'm giving it to you! This is the code using my information:
<**a href=**http://wingedwriter.blogspot.com**>**Catherine Denton<**/a**>

2. Copy the above code into a word document and delete all the **s (Sorry, I had to separate them like this because the code wouldn't show up in this post unless I did).

3. Change the url address to your blog's address and change my name to your blog's name or whatever you want it to say. Then save it in the document.

4. Keep this word document on your desktop and copy the code when you know you'll be browsing blogs. Every time you comment on a blog, paste your code at the bottom so they'll be able to find you through the link. Mine looks like this:

Catherine Denton

The End. See? Wasn't that easy? Are you smiling? I hope so. If you're confused, feel free to ask more questions in the comments. 

Otherwise, I hope to see lots of signatures so I can hop to your blog and throw confetti!