On the Seventh Day of Christmas…
There is nothing in this world like giving to someone with no thought of return. Depression often sets in when people don’t have something outside of themselves to pour their lives into – even if they are unable to pour their lives into something (e.g., illness, etc.). We all need to be needed and we all need something to push toward. Most of us have to work to pay bills, but there is that little extra we can all do to make a difference in the life of someone who will never repay us. It does the heart and soul good to give.
If you really want to make this holiday season special, make a point of giving your time to charities. Pick a handful of charities that mean a lot to you and your honey and spend some of your holiday celebration working for them. There are also charities that give gifts to children who are underprivileged or who have a parent in prison. Seven charities may be daunting, but I would recommend you picking at least one or two charities to delve into this holiday season and saving the other five or six for next year. You’ll be glad you did!
Another idea to consider is giving to a charity in someone else’s name. If you know that your lady loves children, make a donation to a charity that benefits children in her name (e.g., Angel Tree, Operation Christmas Child, etc.). If your man loves sports, you can donate sporting goods or money to a local non-profit sports program or Special Olympics in his name. It’s a small way to give back to the community and world.
On the Eighth Day of Christmas…
Something sweet to remember in relationships are all the special spots that remind you and your honey of your courtship. Maybe you have a coffee shop where you and your sweetie spend (or spent) a lot of time. Where was your first date? Is there a shop the two of you like (or liked) to go to together?
As a Christmas day of fun (either on Christmas Day or near Christmas), make a day of visiting all of your special spots together. Take a camera, a list of places to cover, and go back and relive the beginning of your relationship. Take pictures at each location, and get something from each special place that you can put in a scrapbook with your pictures (e.g., paper menu, leaf from a tree in a park, etc.).
This day can be one long date and you can either put the scrapbook of your memories together as a Christmas gift for your honey or you and your honey can both spend time putting it together. You may want to do this every few years, especially as new special places emerge.
If Eric and I spent a special day reliving some spots that are special to us, we might go to classroom #131 in the Teacher Education Hall at Liberty University where we met. We would probably visit the dining hall where we had countless lunches together, and the Japanese restaurant where we ate our first off-campus meal together. Then there would be the restaurant where we had our first official date (even though the restaurant has changed a few times since then). We’d have to swing by his old apartment complex where he first told me he loved me; and, if we had a lot of time to travel we could also visit the beach where Eric proposed – the same beach where we got our long pants and t-shirts completely soaked early one Sunday morning when we couldn’t resist jumping in the waves (and you should’ve seen the looks we got!).
Have fun with this. Life gets busy and stressful. It’s important to remember how your relationship started and relive the beginning happy times. Remind yourselves of all the wonderful reasons why you chose to love each other at the beginning.
Have you ever spent a holiday thinking of, and giving to, others? Would you enjoy a day of memories with your special someone?