No Stress Giving

Giving is something I see causes stress to so many people.  Asking for gift ideas, creating registries or wish lists, going from site to site or store to store.  In the end there is usually joy, but is the stress really worth it?  Would your recipients really want those gifts knowing the stress you put into it?  Or would they have rather you spent that time with them?  Over the last few years our children have taught me the best ever lesson, no stress giving!

Little man so frequently comes home with gifts from his friends at school or I get a picture from a fellow parent of something he has decided to gift to a classmate.  Most recent, there was an exchange of a hair tie for his friend's little sister and a few days later he came home with a dragonfly that I not-so-secretly love! 

The lesson we have learned from the innocence of our children is simple

So our new mantra for giving: give often from the heart.  Admittedly, we do not shop much in our house other than for food and projects but we do often have "scraps" and "treasures" that we find to share with our loved ones.  In this spirit little man is in the process of making paintings for his classmates, the latest creations from the shop.