10 Gifts You Can Give That Cost You Nothing

Let Go Of The Gift Pressure

Today I’d like to share some gift ideas for you. This is the time of year where we’re all running around trying to get that last, perfect gift. It beats out birthdays, Mother’s and Father’s Day, Valentine’s Day. We talk about the wise men bringing gifts. It’s just common tradition to buy gifts.

I’ve expressed before that this year, something has been going on with me. I’ve adjusted my thinking, and I’ve released my need to control so much. I just recently did a blog about chasing after Christmas and letting Christmas come to you. I know on December 26th the pressure from giving the perfect gift won’t matter much.

So this topic of gift giving has been fresh in my heart. Let me first say that I love to give and receive gifts. I have no problem with either. But I want to give another slant to it and let you think of something that you may not have thought of before. Here’s the deal – we can get so caught up in getting the perfect gifts that we really miss the motivation of why we’re doing it in the first place.

Let Go of the Expectations

Here’s where this idea came to me. My sons and I went shopping to get a gift for their dad. We were throwing ideas around, and I would just listen and chime in when I could. I found myself saying, do not let your dad get me a gift card. As soon as I said it, I felt so bad!

There were expectations woven in to what I expected from my husband. How much time would he put in? How much thought? It did not set well with me at all. I started thinking…wait a second! What if we came to gift giving with a pure heart. A heart that wanted to give just to give. To give and let go. Not always to receive.

When you have the motivation of giving to give, you are going to receive so much more in return. Your return on your investment will be huge – but it will happen over time. You’ll get some great things back in return that don’t come with a price tag.

What Is Your Motivation?

The first thing I want you to ask yourself is this – what is your motivation to receiving, and really giving? The most important things we can give someone are our presence, our being. The gift of joy. The gift of our positivity and our heart. The gift of our time. All this costs nothing!

So I have 10 gift suggestions here that cost nothing. And here’s the best part – they can be given over and over throughout the year. There is no expiration date on these. They sound simple, but that’s the point. Keeping it simple to give. To release and forget.

The First 3

1. Give the gift of letting someone complain or vent to you. Sit down with them or answer the phone and just let someone spill their heart out to you. But here’s the deal – you don’t say anything. You give them the gift of your listening. Let them vent. Let them share their frustration.

So many times, we try to solve their problems. But a lot of the time, people don’t want it solved. They just want to vent! If they ask you to offer your opinion, then by all means do so. But sometimes it’s just nice to get it all out.

2. Give the gift of telling someone how you feel about them. I don’t mean to tell them they’re awful or you don’t like them. My point is, your tribe – your friends – tell them how you feel about them. Why you love them. What an awesome gift it is to verbalize why you love them so much!

3. Give the gift of an apology. Swallow your pride, swallow your ego, and apologize. Maybe apologize for misunderstanding someone. Apologize for misspeaking. Apologize for assuming something that wasn’t true. Apologize for saying something incorrectly. Just apologize. That is a huge, huge gift. Let me ask you – when was the last time you said you were sorry, and really meant it?

Giving Attention and Listening

4. Give the gift of asking someone, how can I help you today? Can you imagine if every single day for the next 365 days, we actually stopped and asked that? Can you imagine the domino effect that would come from that? It would be a huge wave of helping people. Then, don’t expect them to say a certain thing in return – just do it.

5. Give the gift of letting someone tell a story without interrupting them or one-upping them. When I taught school, I’d say, this person has the floor and you can’t say anything. So let someone tell a story without interjecting and one-upping. Give the gift of listening.

6. Gift the gift of using your full face attention when you’re listening to someone. It’s similar to a couple other ones, but for me, there is nothing sweeter than knowing I have the attention of someone else. They’re giving me eye contact, they’re not looking over their shoulder, they’re not looking at their phone, they’re not checking their texts…they’re listening to me fully. That’s such a gift!

The Last Few Ideas

7. Give the gift of changing your plans. Let your schedule be interrupted by someone else because they’re more important than you are. Cancel that appointment, and give that gift to someone else of your time. It tells them that they are important to you.

8. Give the gift of writing a note to someone and mailing it. Not a text, or an email, but a real old fashioned letter. It feels so good to get mail because it seems like such a lost art these days. It tells someone that you took the time to write it, to get an envelope and a stamp, and put it in the mail. You’re telling them that they mean that much to you.

9. Give the gift of telling someone that you believe in them. Here’s the deal – so many times, we have limiting beliefs about ourselves, and we need that friend to say they believe in you. You are rocking it! We need that boost of confidence sometimes. It’s truly priceless. We get so consumed with “me” instead of “we” that we don’t edify each other often enough, and we must be doing it.

10. Give the gift of visiting someone with no agenda in mind. I know sometimes people don’t like pop-up visitors. I’m reminded of growing up when neighbors would just come over and visit. Friends and family would just pop by and sit on the front porch. My mom would right away start a cup of coffee. That is a gift that has gone away over the years. We’re just so busy, and we close ourselves up in our own little world. Spend time with those you love.

Give to Give

So these are just 10 of my ideas of gifts that do not cost a thing. Now, I’m not saying never to give actual gifts again, I just want you to revamp your motivation and your expectations of giving and receiving. Just give and forget. Give and let go. Give to give, and give to give more.

I heard a quote recently, and I thought it went very well with this topic.

“The true measure of a woman or a man is how he or she treats someone who can do him or her absolutely no good.”

Merry Christmas!

If you got any value out of this, please share it! Send it to someone who needs to give herself a break this holiday season. Pay it forward. It’s Christmas time – what better way to spread kindness and pay it forward!

From the bottom of my heart, dear readers, I wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!