tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15431497814911712942024-02-08T06:50:34.203-08:00Stories of Gift-Giving, by Mom2Mom giftsOur blog, ‘Stories of Gift-Giving’ illustrates the philosophy of giving as a stimulating and gratifying experience, especially when done as a random act of kindness. 'Mom2Mom gifts' is the small business behind it. It's a website that enables you to give in an affordable way, for just the right person, at just the right time.
Our site is great for new mom gifts, gifts for friends, sympathy gifts and gifts for women. Consider www.mom2momgifts.com the next time you want to make someone smile.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00130466450345677198noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1543149781491171294.post-34923804055141788452013-06-27T03:45:00.000-07:002013-06-27T05:01:46.087-07:00<h2 class="main_title">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">A Simple Random Act of Kindness: Teaching Children To Think Of Others</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></h2>
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<img alt="thinkofothers" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-1225" height="239" src="http://www.momentsaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/thinkofothers-300x239.jpg" width="300" /> </span><br />
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</span><span style="font-size: large;">"... I try to incorporate acts of kindness into our regular
routine (like picking up rubbish around the neighborhood, baking muffins
for friends, and donating old toys), once in a while I like to prepare a
slightly special opportunity for my children to do some *random* acts
of kindness that they would have a lot of fun with and that would also
be more memorable.</span><br />
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</span><span style="font-size: large;">On this particular day, instead of splurging on a lunch out at the
mall, we purchased some cute little rubber figurines to give to
strangers. I knew these adorable smiley face bendy toys would be so
much fun for kids (and they appeared to be quite durable, too!), so
here’s what we did with them…"</span><br />
<br />To Read more .. <br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Go to 'Moments a Day', by Chelsea.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.momentsaday.com/teaching-children-to-think-of-others-a-simple-random-act-of-kindness/">http://www.momentsaday.com/teaching-children-to-think-of-others-a-simple-random-act-of-kindness/</a>. June 26, 2013.</span> </span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00130466450345677198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1543149781491171294.post-88409059876744899352013-06-26T18:50:00.000-07:002013-06-27T10:51:05.855-07:00"Giver's Glow"<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="font-size: x-large; font-weight: normal;">The Secret to Gift Giving </span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">How to give a gift from the heart</span></span></span>
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By
<a href="http://health.usnews.com/topics/author/rachel_pomerance" rel="author"> Rachel Pomerance</a></span>
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<span class="date">December 13, 2012</span> </span><span class="tools tools-pre">
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<span style="clear: left; float: left; font-size: small; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Donating time or gifts during the holidays can help build experiences for college essays and applications." height="211" src="http://health.usnews.com/pubdbimages/image/41374/FE_DA_20121126_focusedholidays425x282.jpg" title="iSTOCKPHOTO" width="320" /></span>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Of course, you've got a monster to-do list, and it doesn't help
that someone's always yelling about the Christmas shopping countdown
from your car radio and, frankly, everywhere else. You need to find
tasteful gifts for your coworkers (might as well make up for whatever
will or did go down at this year's holiday party). Plus, you don't want
to forget about all the people who help make your world go 'round—the
nurse who finds a way to squeeze you in or the postal worker who
routinely offers a kind word. Plus, you're starting to freak out about
finding the ultimate gift for your significant other.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">But here's the thing. No one wants to feel like an item on your to-do list.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">In fact, it's not the thought that counts, says Sherri Athay, gift consultant and author of <i>Present Perfect: Unforgettable Gifts for Every Occasion</i>.
"It's the thinking that counts," she says. "We just don't stop to
think for a minute." But do so, and you may be surprised at the simple,
special delights you can give someone.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">According to Athay, a meaningful gift is a particular one; it comes
from carefully considering the recipient's distinctive likes and needs
as well as your own special skills while conveying the right message.
So, for example, Assay bakes chocolate-chip cookies that her publicist
adores. Presto! Perfect publicist gift. Everyone has that signature
something they can give, she says. (Perhaps that's why we refer to
talents as gifts.) Have an eye for photography? Wrap up an artsy photo
for your favorite aesthete. Known for your knack with the elderly?
Arrange some time to visit a retirement community. Perhaps you simply
spend time with someone you love—instead of a gift card to a restaurant,
why not take a friend there for dinner?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The most meaningful gifts, Athay says, are those "that can't come
from anybody else, that can't be purchased, and that's why the time
spent is so precious." In fact, one of the most valuable gifts she's
received from her children was a bundle of loving letters for Mother's
Day, though this could work for any occasion, she says. For a gift that
wowed a crowd, Athay recalls the story of a woman who read aloud 64
things she loves about her Dad at his 64th birthday dinner. "Those are
the kinds of things that cost nothing but our time and a little bit of
thought."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">And that process also benefits the giver.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">"In all these amazing studies we have, when people focus their mind
on what they can do to give to another human being, even if it's buying
a gift or making a financial contribution to a meaningful charity,
when their mind is focused in that way, a part of the brain lights
up"—specifically, the reward center, explains Stephen Post, author of <i>The Hidden Gifts of Helping</i>.
Turning away from your own stresses to think about helping others
"shifts the whole emotional dynamic of the brain, and it kicks in these
pathways of joy and gratification, which are really good for you, and
it shuts down a lot of the bad stuff," he says.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Take the Christmas example of Scrooge, Post says. Once he begins
giving, "he's got what I call 'the giver's glow'... he's discovered
this incredible joy, and it's liberated him from his old self to a
newer self and a better self."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Apart from the emotional value of exchanging gifts, these rituals have evolutionary underpinnings, says Gad Saad, author of <i>The Evolutionary Bases of Consumption </i>and <i>The Consuming Instinct: What Juicy Burgers, Ferraris, Pornography, and Gift Giving Reveal About Human Nature</i>.
Gifts have been used for courtship, "kin investments," (people tend to
give grander gifts to relatives who are closer or perceived as
closer), and to bond with others through a sense of reciprocity, he
says. For example, a Bedouin might host a wandering traveler, but would
expect said traveler to host him should he find himself in a similar
situation, Saad says.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">"The beauties but also the pitfalls of the gift-giving ritual is
that it is laden with potential land mines," that could explode if we
don't negotiate that ritual, says Saad, who is a professor of marketing
at Concordia University. Success hinges on the giver's ability to
"understand the dynamic and expectations of each of these very
different gift-giving situations," he says. And, of course, "pay
attention to things he or she is interested in," so that your selection
reflects care.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">If that's enough to make you wish for the days when you could simply
read a child's note to Santa that makes it plain (apart from backwards
letters) what he or she wants for Christmas, don't worry.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">"Focus your mind, and be empathic, and then go out and give it your
best," says Post. And remember, it's the thinking that counts.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://health.usnews.com/health-news/articles/2012/12/13/the-secret-to-gift-giving">- USNews article 2012</a></span> </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00130466450345677198noreply@blogger.com0