catherine preth asked:
Around this time of the year, everyone will be pre-occupied with Christmas presents, not just buying and giving them but also getting them. In the midst of all the festivities, sometimes the real meaning of giving is lost. After the Christmas holidays, we accumulate more ‘stuff’, sometimes even losing track of who gave them. Isn’t this just awful? So how do you make your Christmas gift special? It takes just a little extra effort.
With a little effort, an inexpensive Christmas gift can become one of the most treasured gifts, sometimes lasting for life.
Let me tell you a story about a special Christmas gift I got for Christmas many, many years ago. This most precious gift is still in my house today, not collecting dust, but occupying pride of place by being significantly displayed on the shelf, even after 15 years. On occasions, I still pick it up and remember how much it meant to the giver in giving me this little Christmas present.
The Christmas present was just a seashell – an inscripted cone-shaped seashell with something very special written inside it - which made it the only one in the entire world and very special to me. He had painstakingly carved a short love letter message on the inside, on the mouth of the shell. He had wriiten a love note to me, using the shell as his medium.
Although the cone shell was rather pretty, he later told me that he found it during one of his trips to the beach. As a shell, it didn’t cost him anything, and wasn’t all that unique.. But his painstaking effort in carving a message for me on the shell had made it so valuable, and turned out to be something I have, and will continue to treasure for the rest of my life.
The interesting thing is that this shell will definitely outlive me and one of my children will probably want it. I have often shared this story with my kids, and curious friends, on how this shell came to be in my possession. All of them are so taken up by the thoughtfulness and the innovativeness of the gift. I have had the love note framed up with the envelope it came in, and have placed it on our living room shelf.
In fact, any type of gift which you can inscribe some wordings on, such as a pet-name or even a secret symbol where you both share, is a perfect Christmas gift. It does not have to be a very long message. Of course, if it can be written on, then a long love letter message is ideal. However, if you have to carve on it then you should pick a short love note. What I have found is that Christmas gifts in this form is more effective if it is not expensive.
The simpler the gift, the better the choice. However, you do have to put in some effort to make it special and you must do it yourself. Don’t worry if it does not come out professional looking or a little flawed - it is alright. In fact, the flaw will accentuate the fact that your gift ‘reeks of effort’ and this makes the gift even more precious. A point to note, you should never send it to other people to make the engraving or writing, the recipient will know and this will tarnish the value of the gift.
So, to make the Christmas gift even more special, attach a love letter to it. It does not have to be a long one and you can get more pointers from my other articles in writing a love letter. Wrap up the gift in a nice box together with your letter. Your gift may not be the biggest or the most expensive but if you put in the right amount of effort, your gift will continually stay with the recipient for a very long time.
Putting effort in selecting a Christmas gift, and mastering the art of writing a love letter and sharing wonderful life’s moments often bring lots of joy to both the giver and the recipient.
Think of your Christmas gift and love letter as a means of capturing life’s moments shared between you and the recipient. Try it and be amazed by its effects. The best part is it does not have to be costly or difficult to do, just a little effort on your part.
Caffeinated Content
July 24, 2008
Make your Christmas Gift Special With Love Letters
July 13, 2008
Christmas Dinner Around the World
Colin Holmes asked:
Everyone is familiar with the festive fare that makes our Christmas dinner one of the most looked-forward to meals of the year. Roast turkey; Yorkshire puddings; Brussels Sprouts; Stuffing; Kilted Sausages; Roast Potatoes; all topped off with seasonal vegetables, lashings of gravy and a generous helping of cranberry sauce. But have you ever wondered what adorns the yuletide platters of our worldwide neighbours on Christmas day? It’s not all turkey you know…
In Australia Christmas is celebrated at the height of summer, so there is no such thing to an Australian as a white Christmas! Whilst for many years our friends down under followed the English model of the turkey dinner, albeit served with the temperature gauge hitting more than 30 degrees, it has since become more practical with the Christmas picnic of seafood, cold meats, pastas, salads and ice cream taking over and of course, the Aussie outdoor favourite: the barbeque.
In Brazil, again at the height of the summer season, a sizeable Christmas dinner is enjoyed consisting of turkey and ham, multi-coloured rice and vegetable and fruit dishes.
Christmas dinner in Mexico varies throughout different states. In some areas Mexicans tuck into beef or pork stews called Pozole whilst others indulge in something with a bit more heat such as Hominy which is made with red chili sauce. In some states the favoured dish is one of fruits, vegetables and nuts.
The United States seems to have adopted many of our Christmas cuisine customs with turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce the first choice for the Christmas table. However as turkey is the American favourite for Thanksgiving, beef or ham is sometimes the preference for the Christmas meal.
Moving over to Europe, the French enjoy a traditional Yule log cake and this is served as part of an abundant Christmas meal, the focal point of which varies between provinces and could be anything from turkey stuffed with chestnuts in Burgundy to goose in Alsace or oysters in Paris.
After some forty days of fasting, the people of Greece enjoy a substantial feast of pork and special handmade bread that is engraved with an image depicting the profession of the family who make it.
In the Czech Republic, potato salad and fried carp make up the traditional Christmas meal.
The Spanish people get stuck into their Christmas dinner on the night of Christmas Eve. It’s a feast of turkey stuffed with chestnuts, pork and other meats and lots of vegetables and potato dishes. Once they have had their fill, families sing carols around the Christmas tree before setting off for Midnight Mass.
In Holland, festive dinners are probably more different than anywhere else in the world. The Dutch ‘gourmet’ event, which probably originates from Indonesia, involves the party host preparing a selection of fish, shellfish, meat and vegetables for each of their guests to cook in their preferred way using their own personal frying pan and choice of seasoning. More traditional style Christmas dinners are also becoming popular too with ham, rabbit, duck, beef or pheasant being the meats of choice.
Wherever you are in the world at Christmas, you are bound to enjoy a festive feast on Christmas day. But what will it be?
Caffeinated Content
Everyone is familiar with the festive fare that makes our Christmas dinner one of the most looked-forward to meals of the year. Roast turkey; Yorkshire puddings; Brussels Sprouts; Stuffing; Kilted Sausages; Roast Potatoes; all topped off with seasonal vegetables, lashings of gravy and a generous helping of cranberry sauce. But have you ever wondered what adorns the yuletide platters of our worldwide neighbours on Christmas day? It’s not all turkey you know…
In Australia Christmas is celebrated at the height of summer, so there is no such thing to an Australian as a white Christmas! Whilst for many years our friends down under followed the English model of the turkey dinner, albeit served with the temperature gauge hitting more than 30 degrees, it has since become more practical with the Christmas picnic of seafood, cold meats, pastas, salads and ice cream taking over and of course, the Aussie outdoor favourite: the barbeque.
In Brazil, again at the height of the summer season, a sizeable Christmas dinner is enjoyed consisting of turkey and ham, multi-coloured rice and vegetable and fruit dishes.
Christmas dinner in Mexico varies throughout different states. In some areas Mexicans tuck into beef or pork stews called Pozole whilst others indulge in something with a bit more heat such as Hominy which is made with red chili sauce. In some states the favoured dish is one of fruits, vegetables and nuts.
The United States seems to have adopted many of our Christmas cuisine customs with turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce the first choice for the Christmas table. However as turkey is the American favourite for Thanksgiving, beef or ham is sometimes the preference for the Christmas meal.
Moving over to Europe, the French enjoy a traditional Yule log cake and this is served as part of an abundant Christmas meal, the focal point of which varies between provinces and could be anything from turkey stuffed with chestnuts in Burgundy to goose in Alsace or oysters in Paris.
After some forty days of fasting, the people of Greece enjoy a substantial feast of pork and special handmade bread that is engraved with an image depicting the profession of the family who make it.
In the Czech Republic, potato salad and fried carp make up the traditional Christmas meal.
The Spanish people get stuck into their Christmas dinner on the night of Christmas Eve. It’s a feast of turkey stuffed with chestnuts, pork and other meats and lots of vegetables and potato dishes. Once they have had their fill, families sing carols around the Christmas tree before setting off for Midnight Mass.
In Holland, festive dinners are probably more different than anywhere else in the world. The Dutch ‘gourmet’ event, which probably originates from Indonesia, involves the party host preparing a selection of fish, shellfish, meat and vegetables for each of their guests to cook in their preferred way using their own personal frying pan and choice of seasoning. More traditional style Christmas dinners are also becoming popular too with ham, rabbit, duck, beef or pheasant being the meats of choice.
Wherever you are in the world at Christmas, you are bound to enjoy a festive feast on Christmas day. But what will it be?
Caffeinated Content