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After the verb 'to Love,' 'to Help' is the most beautiful verb in the world.
- Bertha von Suttner
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| Greetings!
It's the most wonderful time of the year that's how the song goes, right? Often the "most wonderful time" also includes a lot of stress and anxiety, especially for those celebrating the holidays a little differently this year. Whether your friend is celebrating the birth of a new baby, stuggling with a challenging health issue or mourning the loss of a loved one, the holiday season is going to be different for her/him this year. Every little bit of help and cheer you can provide along the way can make this time of year a little more "wonderful." We have some fun ideas and helpful things to get you started. Check here for more ideas every day! |
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Ideas to make the holidays a little more "wonderful"
... some suggestions for bringing good cheer to all.
- Deck the Halls: If your friend's house has not yet been decorated for the holidays, ask if you can enlist a few elves to put some lights outside and a few fun decorations inside. You know your friend well, so you can decide if he/she would prefer to use things that are packed away or if some new tinsel would be fun.
- Gifts: Offer to take your friend shopping. You can be the driver, the bag carrier and the one to suggest it is time to stop when you see your friend is beginning to tire. If your friend isn't feeling up to a shopping trip, offer to do the shopping yourself.
- Wrapping Party: Three or four friends gathered together to wrap gifts is fun, and the gifts will get wrapped quickly. This can put your friend-in-need's mind at ease!
- Secret shopping/wrapping trip: Children want to give as well as receive. If your friend has children, the young ones will want to be sure to have gifts for Mom and/or Dad. Offer to spend an afternoon with the child(ren), and then go on a secret mission with them!
- Sing it! Enlist all of your friend's family and friends to serenade your friend. Limit your repertoire to four or five easy songs. Instruct the singers ahead of time that this is not a party - you'll just be appearing at the door and giving a gift of song. Depending upon your friend's situation, it might be worthwhile to let a family member in on the surprise. And of course, be sure there is a tin of cookies or other holiday goodies to give when your friend answers the door!
And don't forget all the "usual" (and unusual) WhatFriendsDo.com daily cheer ideas throughout the entire holiday season.
Do you need some help with ideas for a specific situation? The WhatFriendsDo.com Staff can help! Send us an email and we'll be glad to offere some suggestions. |
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The Gift of Song
Christmas was coming, and Laura was very weak. When she wasn't sleeping in her bed she was stretched out on the sofa. She mentioned to her sister that she was sad to miss out on the Christmas music; that recordings weren't the same as hearing live voices. So Caroline suggested to Fran that some caroling would be nice if Laura's Team could manage it. Well they certainly did! A few days before Christmas about 50 carolers came by, and filled our front room with glorious song. They parked a couple blocks away and walked over in the snow, arriving with rosy cheeks. Friends old and young (including a baby), friends from all over town, Jewish friends, a deaf friend, many friends who didn't know each other until they came together to sing for Laura. What a wonderful Christmas gift, and such a beautiful memory.
Thank you again for Laura's wonderful team.
--Marian Miller |
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Be sure to check your Inbox at the end of the week for a special WhatFriendsDo.com message to help you make sure your friend avoids post-holiday letdown!
(Typically we only send you one message per month - we try to respect your Inbox (it's what freinds do!) - but this time of the year warrants an extra message) | |
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We might not be able to change the outcome of your situation, but we hope to help change the journey!
Wishing you the best this holiday season.
Aimee & Fran
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