1000 Flowers for the Planet - #277 Gift an Experience
How many gifts do you buy every year? Many
people buy enormous quantities and spend huge dollars at Christmas, but there’s
also family birthdays, kids birthdays, mothers’ day, fathers’ day,
anniversaries, bridal showers, weddings, engagements, baby showers, baby
arrival, work colleagues leaving, house warmings, religious ceremonies … It’s
quite a list. And for all of these things we buy stuff, particularly at
Christmas when children are overwhelmed with gifts.
In the end, what is it all? It’s stuff. Just
stuff. Sometimes gifts are thought through well and are very useful or much
needed but more and more these days our gifts are just stuff purchased to fulfil
that social need to be able to say ‘we did the right thing’ but giving someone ‘something’.
How many of us still have all the stuff we’ve been gifted over the years? That
question might be worth thinking about.
This Flower suggestion is to change stuff for
experiences. Instead of buying a useless object that may not be required, gift
someone a memory, something they can go and do or be a part of. Examples would
be: theatre tickets; a voucher to go ten pin bowling or play mini golf; sky
diving; hot air ballooning; zoo entry; two tickets to a movie; tickets to the
football or any other sporting event; entry to a special art exhibition;
membership to a club; introductory dancing lessons; a short course in cooking.
The list goes on.
When you look back on your life do you say, “Remember
that food processor John and Sue bought us” or do you say “Remember that
amazing hot air balloon ride John and Sue sent us on”? Life is about
experiences, not about stuff. Next time you head out to buy a present, find an
experience to give.
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