Appreciation Gifts

A gift basket is an excellent way to show your appreciation for someone who has gone out of his or her way to do something special or for someone who supports you day by day. Did your husband take over the cooking and housework so you could study for the GREs? Did the staff at your medical office hold down the fort admirably during the flu vaccine panic? Did your neighbor take your garbage to the curb, pick up your mail and walk your dog while you were laid up with a mogul-related cast on your leg?

Give those people a gift basket! I personally feel that appreciation is a somewhat neglected quality these days. Whether it's in a business situation or a personal relationship, a little appreciation goes a long, long way toward making people want to do things for you again, more, or better.

Don't Wait for an Official Appreciation Day

Mother's Day, Father's Day, Secretary's Day and the like have been set aside to remind us to show our appreciation at least once a year. These official holidays shouldn't be ignored, but it seems more to the point to show your appreciation for special efforts at the time they are made. If, for instance, your office has just had a whole new system of equipment installed, a lot of the carping and complaining that goes along with such wholesale changes will be allayed if you recognize your employees' inconvenience and send a gift basket to the staff to show your appreciation.

Appreciation gifts don't have to be large, splendid rewards for major favors, either. I recently moved to a duplex, and my neighbor goes to work very early. Every morning, he picks up the newspaper from wherever it landed and puts it inside the door, so I don't have to run out in the cold in my nightie. I think I ought to give him a little something to say thanks, don't you?