A Simple, 3-Step Formula So You Can Give A Personalized And Memorable Valentine’s Day Gift This Year

 Episode 21 | (00:00):

Hey friend, Happy Valentine's Day. Today, we're going to be talking about a simple three-step formula so you can give a personalized and memorable Valentine's day gift this year... or any year, I guess. Actually, this little formula works for just about any time you want to say thank you, or send a note of encouragement, or just let someone know that you're thinking about them. Ooh! Ooh! Can you feel it? Can you feel it? Ah, I can feel it. I can feel the loooove in the air. Alright, let's do this!

(01:14):

Hey there, Easy Ager. Before I get started today, I wanted to remind you that if you are not already on the Easy Aging® Insider's list, go to TheEasyAgingShow.com and sign up right after this episode, okay?

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I don't know about you but throughout my life, I have written a ton of thank you notes. I mean, a ton of them. Some were to say, "Hey, thank you for the gift you gave me." And others were just to say something like, "Hey, I was thinking of you and I just wanted to say thank you for being my friend," or "Thank you for just taking such good care of me."

(02:01):

When I was little, I hated writing thank you notes. Oh my goodness, I hated it so much. I mean, the way I acted you would think someone was cutting off a limb off my body.

But over the years I started to see the value of it. And let me tell you, I know this sounds crazy but I have walked into someone's home or into a client's office and saw my note pinned to their bulletin board or on the refrigerator. And this was something like five years after I had originally sent it. I mean, that's crazy, right? That somebody could memorialize this little bitty handwritten note of only three sentences, and they're going to put it on the refrigerator or on their bulletin board.

That is the impact a written note can have. And you know, today with all the texting and the typing and the recording that we do, handwritten notes can be considered old-fashioned and outdated but that's the beauty of them.

Because giving a heartfelt note is something completely different and completely unexpected these days, especially when the message is tailored directly for your loved one, whether it's a friend or a family member or a significant other.

(03:10):

So today, I'm going to be giving you this simple formula so you can give a personalized and memorable and very meaningful Valentine's day gift. But it isn't limited to Valentine's Day. You can use this formula any day of the year, when you want to express your feelings, when you want to thank someone, whenever you want to let someone know that you appreciate them.

Before I get started, I want to be clear: I am not writing this note for you. Let me say it again: I am not writing the note for you. I'm just going to give you the formula and then give you some examples and some ideas that you can put into your own note.

The first sentence is going to describe a character trait or action that you like or appreciate about the person. The second sentence is going to tell him or her how the trait or action makes you feel.

(03:58):

And the third sentence is going to offer him or her a thank you or a word of encouragement.

Okay, first sentence: Describe a character trait or action you like and appreciate about the person. Your first sentence can start off like this: "I love the way you laugh when...we're watching goofy movies together." Or you can say something like, "I love the way you listen when..." and then you can fill in the blank.

Another example is "My favorite time of the day is when...we get into these great conversations while we're cooking dinner."

Now the second sentence is going to express how that character trait or action makes you feel. And this is really important because this is something we don't always talk about, do we? So here are a few examples: "My heart feels so full when...I watch you pray with my mother at the nursing home," or "I feel so humble when...you brag about me to your kids or your colleagues," something like that. You could also say something like "I smile every time I think about..." and then put in a really fun, really personalized, even a really intimate moment that you had with this person.

(05:10):

The reason this sentence is important is because you are telling them how they make you feel, how you are experiencing them. And once they understand that, it is such a pick-me-up. It's a great feeling when you realize, "Oh my goodness, I am bringing joy to one of the more important people in my life. I am making this person happy by doing this."

And that just makes you just feel good. You just start doing that little, inner glow thing, right? You're like, "Oh, good. I'm glad I'm impacting this loved one this way." That's how they're going to feel.

Now the last sentence is simply a thank you or a word of encouragement. You can say something like, "Thank you for loving me like you do," or "I feel so blessed to have you in my life." Or you could even say something like, "How did I get so lucky to have an amazing daughter like you?"

(06:01):

So this is giving them encouragement. This is thanking them and closing out your note. Then of course, at the end, you can say something like "be my Valentine" or "I love you," or whatever you're comfortable with and then sign your name.

Use as many sentences as you need to fully express yourself. You can do a couple of sentences for your feeling, or a couple of sentences for your thank you or your words of encouragement. So customize this to what you need, okay?

A couple of important notes: number one, this does not have to be expensive. You do not have to go out and buy a five or seven dollar Valentine's Day card. You can just use your nice stationary and draw a heart on it. 

You don't have to go running around, trying to find the perfect Valentine's Day card because you are giving them the perfect Valentine's Day gift. You're giving them the gift of words and telling them how much you love and appreciate them.

(06:49):

Note cards are pretty inexpensive. You can find them at Walmart or Target. I also find some really cute little note cards at Half-Priced Books, so check that out too if you have one in your town.

And if you don't really want to or even know how to draw a heart, you can go to Dollar Tree and pick up little stickers of hearts. They have the little hearts and the cupids and they're really cute. And you can put that in there, or put some heart confetti inside or whatever to make it more festive.

Now I'm going to highly, highly, highly recommend...Did I say highly? Oh wait. Yes, I did say highly recommend this: Do not text or email this note. A handwritten note is best. It's so much more impactful when you receive this in the mail.

(07:35):

All you have to do is write the note, put it in the envelope, put a stamp on it and drop it in the mail. I don't know about you, but the main thing I'm getting in the mail these days is bills.

And to see that someone went to the effort to write this note to me and put it in the mail, and  get a stamp. I mean, that's almost outdated right there, right?

So when someone understands that you took the time and you thought enough them to do this, this is going to make a big impact. So handwrite it, if possible.

Texting or emailing is fine, but it's certainly not going to have the impact that receiving a handwritten note will have.

So that's pretty much it for today. Before I close, let me talk about each one of these steps for your formula.

(08:17):

You're going to start the whole thing with "Dear..." and you put in their name. The first sentence: Describe a character trait or action that you like or appreciate about the person.

Sentence two: Tell him or her how the trait or action makes you feel and sentence three, offer a thank you or a word of encouragement to your loved one and then sign it "I love you," "Be my Valentine," "God bless," or whatever works for you.

So there you go. This is going to be an amazingly simple yet meaningful and memorable gift that you can give the people you love this year.

Never underestimate the power of simplicity. This simple note can speak volumes to your loved ones this Valentine's Day.

So once again, become an Easy Aging® Insider at TheEasyAgingShow.com and until next time, peace, love and blessings to you and yours. Take care. Bye-bye!