This year has undeniably broken all precedents. It’s been a one off for sure, a rollercoaster of life, emotion and a huge test of our resilience.
Christmas is looking very different too. It has the potential to be similarly unprecedented. A time traditionally of families congregating, gathering to celebrate. A time of togetherness and joy. But whether we will be able to travel is uncertain. Whether we will be able to gather is again unknown at this point.
And yet one of the most positive and most powerful lessons of the Covid chaos has surely to be the lessons we’ve learned about what’s important. About who’s important. And the sense of community and togetherness that emerged.
We were given the opportunity, in the first lockdown, to declutter our lives, immerse ourselves in and embrace the wonder of nature. A true sense of experience. Daily walks, unusual patterns of natural growth, deer trotting through eerily quiet townscapes, a symbiotic stillness and health havoc in equal measures, was the order of the early lockdown days.
As employees became furloughed, transport became restricted and loungewear became the new norm, the retail sector became, and looks likely to remain, a pretty scary option. We began to shop online, to bulk buy or conversely cut right back on non-essentials, and luxuries did not feature.
The little treats we rewarded ourselves with previously, stopped. as concerns over finances escalated. Many people struggled with the solitude, especially those who live alone. As a result, our ‘mojo’ (as I like to call it) hit a parallel escalator.
And so, in a year where many people have cut back, a year where selfcare has been marginalised, this Christmas giving somebody a gift that can be easily bought online, is self-indulgent, selfcare based and lockdown friendly, seems to me to be an obvious gift option.
A Gift Voucher allows the recipient to treat themselves without any consideration to the cost. As a replacement for all those missing treats, it’s obvious. Even better if the gift voucher is selfcare focussed. We all need a mojo boost that’s for sure.
For many children, this year will form a huge compilation of memories. Many amazing parents have initiated and supported their children to document their time during lockdown in journals, time capsules and other forms. Gifting somebody an experience from which to make memories is a wonderful gesture. A positive, long lasting experience that showed they survived this unprecedented year.
This year give the gift that lasts by helping people make positive memories.
