Beauty & Banter: Show Them You Care-6 Ways to Spoil the Ones You Love

In light of Valentines Day, which is now behind us, and some recent events that have shaken my family up pretty hard this year already, I have realized just how important my family, friends, and all the people who mean so much to me in my life really are to me. I had begun to think about ways to spoil my friends and family to let them know I care and make them feel special. In my opinion people just want to be loved, cherished, wanted, and needed. I would find that I randomly came up with the ideas, but the intention was honest and I really enjoyed surprising people with little things.

1. Write Little Notes-The power of the written word is so amazing. For my son who is five I put handwritten messages telling him how much I love him and can’t wait to see him in his lunch box with a treat of chocolate or his favorite candy. He would come home so excited to tell me he got my note and since he is reading now…even more excited he read it himself. For the grandparents who live three hours away I try to take lots of photos of the kids and email them with funny captions or notes. It really makes their day and gives them a giggle. 

2. Bake Something-Now I am an avid baker and enjoy it so much. I like creating something beautiful and tasty out of just flour, eggs, butter etc. It’s amazing how therapeutic and a stress reliever it is too. Anyway, bake something yummy for your coworkers or your husbands’ coworkers! Guarantee that they will enjoy the goodies and appreciate the thoughtfulness. For my father in-law I try to make his favorite desserts when he come to visit for a weekend to see us. He loves it because it’s a treat from his regular routine and it was made for him to let him know that he is thought of.

3. Plan a One on One-This could be a date with your husband, friend, child, or relative. Whoever it is with just make it fun and about what the other person would like or enjoy. My son loves to read now and I think he gets that from me…but we have “dates” at the local bookstore where we get a Starbucks (he gets chocolate milk) and we scour the shelves for new treasures. I could get lost in there for hours and I think we did! He picked out some new books and I restrained myself from adding anymore to my collection and had a great time. I was really proud I left there with just my kid and HIS books by the way…I mean you have no idea how difficult that was. Whew…

4. Make A Meal of It-Now I am not saying to spend hours in the kitchen, but there is something to be said for a meal that takes planning, and effort, and love. My son always says, “Mama, you made this with love didn’t you?” I laugh and say, “Of course! Just for you.” Now granted it may be a turkey meatloaf that took me ten minutes to put together but I did use my hands and got egg on my shirt. Laughing…I guess its because I grew up with my mom who was taught tradition being from an old school Italian family, making Sunday dinners and being together. Everyone would crowd around the dinner table and just share everything about their weekend and tell stories. Food brings people together and through that memories are created.

5. Pick Up The Phone-Now days everyone is connecting through social media and technology, but very rarely do I get a phone call from anyone. We have lost the personal aspect of communication, and I am guilty of it too. It’s easier to just send and email or a quick text and move on to the next thing while I wait for a reply. I think the only person who physically still calls my phone is my brother. I have the same response every time…”Why are you calling me? Did something happen?” I mean that must be why he literally called because it must be an emergency right? Oh well he isn’t big on texting anyway so I will still pick it up when it calls.

 6. Dote on Your Spouse-If your married or together in a domestic partnership the other person in the relationship just wants to know that you still pay attention and care after ten years or even five years. Seriously I was thrilled when my husband told me he knows and appreciates how much I do for our family with raising kids, school stuff, homework, doctors appointments, feeding the baby every three hours, feeding everybody, laundry, cleaning, baking, planning play dates, and sports, etc., etc., etc. I mean it goes on and on...and he recognized that (finally), but he did and I was ecstatic to get the recognition from my husband that what I do does not go unnoticed. It was a great feeling to hear that from him.  This may be old school but I try to show him how much I appreciate him by sending him texts at work because he's usually on conference calls so he can see that I am thinking of him and miss him. We also try to have lunch together a few days a week. When the baby is down for his nap and he can get away for an hour it a nice way to highlight the day. My husband loves food and my mother always said, "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach," so I adopted that mantra and whenever I want to spoil him I make his favorite meal (usually something spicy) like healthy chicken enchiladas or green chili smothered burritos. It makes me smile to see him smile. He is a happy guy when I do those things for him.

All of these I touched on are just little things that go a long way. Most people aren't going to remember if they received something expensive or lavish, but they will remember how they were treated, made to feel, and the special moments. How do you spoil the ones you love? Would love to hear...

Until Next Time,

Alexis

@LexiKendall2

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