GIFT-GIVING FROM YOUR COLLECTION

As we move into the traditional gift-giving time of year, here’s our invitation to consider if there are items in your home or your parents’ home that might support a family down-sizing project.   

What might gifting from an abundant collection look like for a multi-generational family?  Significant and meaningful items could be passed on to younger generations as part of the holiday season. 

Where might small appliances such as a rarely used bread-maker or furniture such as an old bookcase find a new home?  Are there items of family significance such as a jewelry box or painting that another family member could enjoy now? 

Last week’s blog posting invited us to consider items that we may save for a special occasion that get used only once or twice a year. How might some of those items move to the next generation?

“Whoa!” you say. "What grandchild or teen is going to want an old trunk or press-back chair?”  

Perhaps gifts aren’t always about instant gratification. Alternatively, they can be about legacy and longterm use. A person of any age could welcome a beautiful chair in their bedroom.  Or the gift of an old trunk could become a well-loved toy box. 

Wisdom suggests that it is important to have an intergenerational conversation about your new gifting plan so there are no misunderstandings.

Choosing carefully is part of the giver’s job to ensure that the gift fits the recipient’s taste and space.

Perhaps recipients could be given a choice of what will become their gift. A chosen gift can be wrapped or gift-bowed with the memories of its story enclosed as part of the gift. Next week’s blog post will focus on ways that we might tell the story of an old family item that we could pass on. 

As we approach the annual gift-giving season, what's sitting in your home or your parents’ home that might be longing to live with someone else?