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Hi everyone, Jacinda here. With Christmas coming up, I wanted to share two gift ideas that have made a world of difference to my family.  My husband is a really hard person to buy for. He doesn’t want for much, and for birthdays/anniversaries/Christmas I struggle to find something meaningful for him that he will actually use or like. After much searching on the internet I came across this love letters idea from Heather Lynn. This is how she explains the concept:

1. Search the stores for the most masculine journal/notebook you can find.

2. Write your first love note. It can be the same sort of note you might write in a card or something a little more lengthy.

3. Give him the book as a gift, and explain that the pages will be filled (by you) over time.

4. Every time you notice something great that you love about your husband, get out the book and write a dated note to him. Don’t tell him when you’ve written them. Just let him find them next time he looks in the book.

BONUS: No more cards from random occasions to stash in a shoebox somewhere or add more clutter to your home. All of your meaningful notes will be contained in one small and accessible place- yay!

I actually did this for my husband on our 11th anniversary in April. He loved it. And I loved the idea of a record of our love. You can tell your husband he’s welcome to write his own love notes to you in there too, or it can just be one way, from you to him.

Now for my second gift idea. I posted about it in the forum recently, but for those who didn’t see it, I’ll post again here. It continues along the same theme as the love letter book, but you use it as a communication tool for your children. It’s called a  Dear Daughter journal but you can use it for any child. Bobbi-Jo explains it better than I. She said: You buy a journal/notebook for each child (who is old enough to write or draw pictures), then you explain that this is a special journal where you will write letters to your child, and they will write letters back. This can happen as frequently as you’d like, and the letters can be about ANYTHING you want. This is a safe way for your kids to ask questions they might have, tell you about their day, and share their feelings openly.

I’ve started one with Brooke my 8 yr old, and she is LOVING it! It is a fantastic way to increase communication. Brooke can use it to tell me about her day, ask a question, express frustrations etc – whatever she wants. Sometimes it’s easier to write how you feel instead of speaking about it, and she LOVES reading the encouraging, loving counsel from me.

These two gifts have gone down so well in our family I highly encourage anyone and everyone to give it a try for their own families. After all, who doesn’t like a gift from the heart?