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I'll admit. I'm recycling this topic from past years. Face it -- people count on you, and there is one gift you can give them that is greater than any other gift possible. Now, I've spent quite a bit of money this year with Amazon.com and other vendors (mostly Amazon, if you want to know), trying to purchase things that will be good for Christmas giving.

Put a bow on your head if you must, but here's how that suggestion breaks down for for your holiday giving:

1. Time. Ultimately, time is one of our most valuable things to give -- because it's a limited thing. We only have a limited about of time in this life, and in our busy lives, most of us have a busy schedule. Time with them is something our loved ones cherish -- and it's the one thing that most of us won't bother to give.

2. Attention. How many times have you been sitting in the same room as your spouse, parents, kids, or significant other, and yet you really weren't paying attention to him/her/them? Heck, it happens all the time to me -- of course, my wife is into playing Angry Birds, so she might not notice. When you're with someone, they deserve your attention -- not the cell phone, the newspaper, the iPad, the TV, the radio, or whatever other diversion you might have at your disposal. Why not listen to them?

3. Service. My wife loves to point out that on Sunday afternoons, I'm supposed to rub her feet. Frankly, I am not the best foot-rubber in the business, but I know that when I show service to her, it makes her feel better. This kind of gift (you may want to give a homemade coupon or gift certificate) is something that's always appreciated, and rarely given.

4. Courtesy. What is is about us that makes us give more courtesy to some stranger in the office than we do our loved ones? How many times have you yelled at your spouse, and yet if you did it to a stranger, it'd be an actionable offense. Our loved ones should deserve as much courtesy as anybody else -- and even more!

5. Caring. Caring can most be expressed as "love in action." If you love someone, show it, through actively caring about them.

6. Appreciation. I don't know what it is about most of us, but many of us never, ever express appreciation for the people who take care of us, work for us, love us, guide us, mentor us, or give birth to us. For some reason, we don't seem to have a real problem expressing appreciation for a parking lot attendant or a food server. Tell the people you love that you appreciate them. You may have to revive them, but they'll thank you for it.

There you go -- six elements that count up to one big gift -- the gift of yourself. When you come right down to it, she's got too many DVDs anyway, and he'll probably never miss that tie. Wrap yourself up with a bow, and give of yourself this holiday season.

Copyright, 2010, by Daryl R. Gibson. All rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted for the non-commercial redistribution of this document as long as it remains intact with this copyright and all other lines. This license does not extend to the use of this material in a compilation, whether for profit or non-profit use. Join us at http://www.Weekdaywisdom.com.