It’s a typical Wednesday at the office, the stack of reports that were due last week haven’t magically disappeared from your inbox, the coffee is burnt again and the photocopier has a piece of paper stuck to it that reads: “not working – maintenance has been called.” You get through your morning slog, then rush out for a ten-minute lunch break, and while you’re out you step in a puddle of water on the sidewalk, and the woman at the lunch cart seems snippy when you ask for no mayo on your sandwich. You rush back to the office, because you forgot you have an early afternoon meeting, and upon your return, you find a mysterious box on your desk. You open it up and it’s a box of hand-dipped strawberries with a note attached. It’s from your significant other and it reads: “Just because.” Suddenly life isn’t so bad after all.
We all know the feeling of receiving an unexpected gift from a friend or loved one. It seems the more serendipitous the gift, the more appreciated it is. When it’s your birthday and you get a gift, it’s always lovely, but almost a little predictable. When a gift is unexpected, it’s like icing on the cake.
A surprise gift has the ability to brighten someone’s mundane or upsetting day. It’s the unexpectedness of the gift that makes it so precious. You never know what someone is going through, but a gift is almost certain to make life seem wonderful. Make your wife or girlfriend the envy of all her colleagues. Nothing is sweeter that receiving a gift at work and being able to answer the question of, “is it your birthday?” with, “no, he just loves me!”
Life seems to move in fast forward and there’s never time in the day to get everything you need to do done for yourself let alone the people in your life that you care about. Don’t wait for a special occasion to make someone’s day brighter - it takes a lot less than you’d think to impact someone’s life in a meaningful and thoughtful way. There are so many ways to do this - here are just a few:
Send a gift. This seems obvious - it’s quick, it’s easy, and with so many wonderful online gifts, you need only spend ten minutes at your computer to get it done. The fact is, receiving a gift is as much about the thought as it is about the gift. The fact that you spent time thinking about them will mean the world to them. The safe gift is a bouquet of cheerful and colorful flowers, but a gift of hand-dipped strawberries, cake pops, or chocolate dipped cookies always goes down well too! Shari’s Berries gorgeous range of “just because” gifts are the perfect place to start.
Take a homemade meal with you. Next time you are cooking up a storm in the kitchen, make extra to go! Lasagnas or pasta bakes are great for this purpose. Make a second helping and put it into a foil lasagna pan to take to a friend’s place. This is a wonderful idea for the parents of newborns or sick friends who aren’t likely to be cooking for themselves. It’s also a great way to lift someone’s day for no reason at all! Who wouldn’t appreciate a home-cooked meal for the fridge? Pasta-bakes are ideal for this purpose because, if your recipient has dinner planned for the next few days, your gift can go straight into the freezer to be enjoyed later in the week.
Turn up with teacake! Call or text to see that your friend is home, and ask if they wouldn’t mind you dropping by. Take a cake, some cookies, or some homemade spiced tea in a flask, and sit with your friend for half an hour and listen to them about how their week has been. Your friend will appreciate that someone has taken the time to care about them. Shari’s Berries delicious range of cakes can be delivered to you so you can turn up to your friend’s house with fresh baked goodness and a smile, or order a cake and have it delivered to their door for a special surprise they can indulge in whenever the mood strikes (i.e. right away).
It takes very little effort to improve the outlook of someone’s entire week. Do something spontaneous and uncalled-for for a friend or loved one, and remind them that someone is always thinking of them. They’ll remember your kindness always and you’ll get a kick out of it too!