My favorite part about the holiday season is giving gifts and spreading holiday cheer. I make it a point in my life to show people I appreciate them and presents are the best way to do it.
The goody-bag idea came into play when I was a sophomore in high school. I had a large friend group of over thirty people. Granted, the group was divided into separate cliques, so I wasn't as close to some people. Even then, I didn't want to exclude anyone, so I went through the central group chat and listed everyone. This eventually spread to including my teachers and classmates who were in school that day. This came out to almost 100 people.
On a free weekend, my mom and I went to the grocery store to buy the materials I needed.
I bought winter themed Hershey kisses, my favorite candy- Rolos, and mini candy canes in bulk. Then I divided up the candies, wrapped a handful of candies in clear plastic gift wrapping, and tied it with curled red ribbons. I also made little, handwritten cards saying, "Happy Holidays" with little snowmen and rainbow lights on the border.
On the last day before winter break, I placed all 100 or so goodie bags into a shopping tote and hand them out during class. With a lot of people already on break, it was a nice treat for everyone who was in school.
This might be a small gift and doesn't have much personalization to it, but it took a lot of time and effort to sit down and make each goodie bag. I consider myself a very mindful person. I'm the kind of girl to know everyone's name in my class, even though I may not be friends with or talk to personally.
Although gifts are very nice to receive, I'm not entitled to receive anything in return. A simple smile and "thank you" is enough for me.
While I am a big believer in quality over quantity, it's very difficult to apply that motto to gifts. Before you think I'm a cheap cop-out, I made goodie bags in order to spread as much happiness as I could. Again, it was about inclusion in a place where it's so easy to be left out.
It's very easy to get lost and feel like what you give isn't enough when people share what they received to everyone else.
But the simplicity of gifts isn't meant to show off. To be practical, gifts cost a lot of money. While I would've loved to give my friends tickets to a concert or music festival, that's not realistic. Of course, I bought separate gifts for my close friends, like bath-bombs, fuzzy socks, mugs, and blankets, but I made the time to give it to them out of school with a handwritten note.
Gifts are more meaningful when they're given without anyone around. It was always about making the other person feel cherished and show how much the friendship or relationship means to you.
I'm not the most thoughtful gift-giver, but the thought of getting something for them counts. Don't discredit yourself for that.
While the holiday season is the most popular time to give presents, there is no such thing as waiting for a holiday to roll around to show someone how thankful you are for them. Words, spoken or written, can have the same heartwarming effect on people too. And those can be expressed at any time of the year.
