Give and Take
The holidays may be joyful, but they can also be exhausting. As we begin the new year, refill your proverbial cup with this activity inspired by the “Take What You Need, Give What You Can” bulletin boards found in some schools. Most of us don’t have a bulletin board at home, so you can use your refrigerator, a countertop in your home, or even the notes app on your phone!
The idea of this activity is that sometimes you have inspiration or positivity to share, and sometimes you need some. When your cup is full, you add to the “stash,” and when you are running on empty, you can pull from it. The give and take will revolve around a few different envelopes that you will put on your refrigerator or a cork board, jars or bowls you will place on a countertop, or notes you will create in a shared notes utility on your device. You get to decide what to call each one; we offer you these four as a starting place: “Inspiration,” “Affirmation,” “Memories,” and “Photos.”
In the “inspiration” envelope (or bowl etc), place slips of paper with words that inspire you – quotes, scripture, passages from books. “Affirmation” will contain encouraging words – either non-person-specific ones or messages from one family member for another (if it’s for a specific person, be sure to put their name on it). “Memories” can be phrases or a few sentences about good things that have happened, from today, yesterday, or ten years ago! And “Photos” will contain printouts of favorite photos you’ve taken; pull your favorites from everyone’s devices and print them cheaply as they’ll likely get folded in half at least once.
Once you’ve got some starter items in each of your categories, hang your envelopes or set out your jars and let the give and take begin! Empower each person in your family to add to the corresponding part of the display when a new quote, memory, or photo comes into their life, and when somebody has a tough day and needs a boost, they can take whatever they need from it. You can adjust the categories or the medium to meet your needs, and keep it going as long as you’d like. And we’d love to hear how you’ve made this activity work for you. Please share your modifications with us on Facebook or Instagram!
