Free Gifts. Yes. Really.

We had a blizzard in the DC area. The government shut down so this meant my husband didn't have to go into work. Given his Colorado roots, he actually enjoys shoveling snow. If there is a lot of snow, he will make it an all day shovelfest. He loves the crisp air, the gleam of white making everything look fresh and clean. So when I looked out the front window and saw that an entire chunk of our sidewalk remained unshoveled, I was puzzled.
I stared out the window for a little while as I tried to figure it out. Oh, hey! I know! A sled run. My husband had decided to give the kids a little extra landing room at the bottom of the hill. What a gift! And a nice one. One the kids really liked and appreciated. It was unexpected to boot. So my brain kicked in and I thought, "why not come up with other gift ideas?" Ones which won't cost a dime and don't need to be wrapped. All you need to do in order to give them, is a willingness to try.

1. How about an extra hour of sleep? Go to bed an hour earlier. Try it once a week. Because if you think about it, is there anything of an earth shattering nature you do for an hour every single night right before bed? If you find you can do it more than once a week, go for it.

2. Clean up one area of your house, apartment, office you've been meaning to tackle for a long time, but only if you are spending time nagging yourself about it. Otherwise, let it go. It's probably not as bad as you think anyway.

3. Sign up for Pandora. It's free. I love listening to it on my computer while I write. I also crank the speakers up and listen to it while we're preparing dinner. Each family member gets to create their own station.

4. Hug other people. Somehow we've gotten away from cuddling, time to get back to it.

5. Make family recipes, but not the ones you never liked. Somehow we get stuck thinking we must have the same menu year after year. You know, the one passed down from generation to generation. However, if you hate turkey, never liked cooking it, then the world will not fall to pieces if you change over to a Tofurkey. Go ahead, try something new! Infuse your own part of history into your holiday meals, when you find a recipe everyone likes, make it again next year.

6. Smile. Even when you are by yourself.

7. Consider attending someone else's religious service or trying a different holiday tradition. Never been to a midnight mass? Give it a try. Haven't seen a Gospel choir in action? Maybe you should. Fry up some potato pancakes and eat jelly donuts. Why not? Give yourself the gift of understanding others.

8. Give your kids compliments. Explain what you appreciate and enjoy about them as people.

9. Re-gift the clothes you and your family no longer need or wear. Shelters and safehouses need them.

10. Keep elbows off the table and chew with mouths closed. It may be old fashioned, but never really goes out of style.

11. Ask for a back rub, tell someone you want a drink and ask them to serve you, request your kids put your shoes away and even ask them to make your bed.No need for you to do it all by yourself. Give the gift of not feeling guilty about asking for what you need or pointing out what would make life a little easier for everyone.

12. Go comment on a blog. Tell the writer why you think their post is a gift to you as a reader.

It didn't take me long to come up with this list. I bet you can come up with your own list of freebies to give to yourself or your family. What's especially great about this sort of list-It's not limited to any particular holiday and can be used all year 'round.