have a tendency to procrastinate and push things into the future. We think, “I’ll plan a fun date night…next week.” Or, “I’ll call Mom to say hi…tomorrow.” But life is brief and precious and full of unexpected (and sometimes tragic) twists of fate. Tomorrow might be one day too late.
So if there’s something you want to say—“I love you,” “I appreciate you,” “Thank you for everything,” “You amaze me,” “I’m grateful we’re friends”—I’m urging you to say it now, as soon as possible.
As you’ll see throughout this book, you can “say it now” in a literal way—with a written note or a list of reasons why you love someone. Or you can “say it now” through your actions rather than your words—accompanying someone to their chemo appointment, for example, or showing up at their door with flowers.
Whether you’re expressing yourself through your words, through your actions, or both, it doesn’t matter. The point is to find a way to say it that feels right for you and the person you love.
Listen to what’s in your heart about why you love this person—and say it.
I hope this book inspires you to celebrate life every day—with words, with cake, with sparklers, with music, with a tender moment spent with someone you love, or with sitting in silence and perhaps doing nothing at all.
To life!
Sherry
QR Code
Watch a two-minute video where I introduce myself (“Hello!”) and share my Celebration Manifesto.
You may have purchased this book because you have a big occasion coming up and you want to give an amazing gift. Maybe your mom is turning seventy, your best friend is having his fortieth birthday, or it is your tenth wedding anniversary. Maybe you’d like to do something extra special to mark this milestone.
Maybe you have a friend who has cancer and is going through chemo and you want to show her how much you love and support her during this difficult time.
Maybe you’re in a long-distance relationship and you want to send your sweetheart a series of gifts in the mail.
Perhaps you don’t need a special gift for someone right now, but you love creative projects—and you love the idea of spreading joy through the art of gifting.
These are all great reasons to use this book.
Here are two ways you can dive in right now:
• Start reading at the beginning and use Post-it Notes to mark the gift ideas you know you want to try. Let your intuition guide you. Trust any small sparks of excitement you feel. If you get an idea for someone specific to give that gift to, write his or her name on the Post-it Note on that page.
• Open the book up at a random page or simply skim through the pages, letting your creativity guide you. If a description or photo grabs your attention, stop and read more. Use your Post-it Notes here, too, to mark any gift ideas that seem fun to you.
Something important to keep in mind:
As you are reading the ideas in this book, you’ll want to use your imagination to think about how these ideas could be converted or tweaked for different ages or types of people. These ideas are great as is, but they are even better when you add your own special flavor of love and thoughtfulness.
Ask yourself these questions as you go:
• Could I make this gift work for someone who is elderly or for a small child? What would I need to change in order for that to happen?
• Could I make this gift even more personal or special? How?
• What could I incorporate into this gift that would show the recipient that I really see, know, and love who she is?
• Is there some humorous twist I could include to make him laugh?
• Is there a way to present this gift to make it the most fun, comfortable, and/or enjoyable?
How to Use the QR Codes in This Book
You’ll notice a bunch of squares with squiggly lines in them throughout the book. These are called Quick Response or QR codes. Many of you are familiar with these QR codes. Some of you may not be. That’s okay!
QR codes are just barcodes that you can scan easily using an app on your smartphone. (If your eyes are glazing over right now, just skip the QR codes altogether and know that you can simply type in the URL that is also included. Easy-peasy!)
If, like me, you find QR codes to be kind of fun, like treasure hunts, you can try it here! See the squiggly square on the next page? I created this special code just for you to test this whole thing out.
How to scan the QR code if you have a smartphone older than 2018:
Step 1: Download a free QR code reader onto your smartphone by searching the App Store. (I use QR Reader, but, honestly, I don’t remember how or why I chose that one.)
Step 2: Tap the app once it has downloaded to your phone in order to open the QR Reader. Tap again, and your camera will appear to be on. Hover over the code on this page, and the camera will automatically take a picture of the QR code. You’ll be directed to the web page with my video message for you.
It’s a fun way for me to get to share way more resources with you than I could squeeze in this book. It also allows me to show you videos and share audio recordings.
Note: Many newer smartphones have included QR code scanning that works by simply using the camera, without the necessity for the QR code reader app. If your smartphone has this feature, simply frame the QR code with your camera and it will launch into action.
But again, if you are shrugging your shoulders and rolling your eyes at the thought of this technology elbowing its way into your book, you can skip the extra resources altogether or simply type in any URL beneath the QR code.
QR Code
I created a surprise for you so you could test out how to use this QR code, or if you prefer, you can see it by simply typing in the URL.
Why Bother Making a Special, Personal Gift?
Why Not Just Buy Something at the Store?
If
