What happens when you give your spouse a gift every week for a month? Good things. Good things happen.
We just wrapped up our love experiment for the month- giving them a gift every week for a month. This challenge is based on Gary Chapman’s book The Five Love Languages, specifically the love language of gifts.
Time for a re-cap!
Well, if you’ve read my last two love language challenge recaps: words of affirmation and quality time, you’ll be noticing a pattern that these challenges are always more challenging for me to complete than I thought they would be.
This month was no exception. Though, to my credit, June was a CRAZY month for us. We were smack in the middle of moving and vacationing and lived in five different houses that month!
So yeah, crazy times.
But, I have to say, this challenge was actually really fun. And the whole point wasn’t to come up with elaborate or expensive presents, just little tokens of my affection to let Rich know I’d been thinking of him. It was fun to plan and surprise Rich with little things.
(For more ideas of little things to surprise your spouse with, check out these “just because” gift ideas. And for bigger gift ideas, check out some of our favorite gifts through the years, and some of the most creative gifts ideas ever.)
Here are the gifts I gave Rich this month:
1. I stayed up and did all the dinner dishes one night. I always do daytime dishes, he always does dinner dishes. This was a small one, but appreciated.
2. I bought us concert tickets to see Renee Elise Goldsberry. This was a big ticket item present, but we’re BIG TIME Hamilton fans over here, so of course he loved it.
3. I sent him a sappy video of me telling him how much I loved him.
4. I bought him a Ben and Jerry’s ice cream (strawberry cheesecake- delicious) for our Friday movie watching.
Mostly really simple things, but I was still grateful to have a reason to show my love every week.
Lessons Learned:
Service is the great antidote to selfishness.
If you’re a little miffed at your spouse, try thinking of a way to make their day.
Normally when we’re a little miffed, we just don’t think of ways to surprise our spouse and make them happy. Our brain doesn’t go there. We’re miffed. We’re too busy thinking of ways THEY could make US happy.
So trying to show them love, particularly thinking of a little surprise, is a GREAT way to jumpstart your brain into a new trajectory.
Worked for me.
Scheduling gift giving is a great idea.
I like these little challenges because so often my brain runs its own little hamster wheel of MY concerns, things I need to get done and I just don’t think to do little things to show my love to Rich nearly as often as I should.
I’m grateful to have a little schedule just to make sure I do it.
Otherwise, I don’t.
And I’ve found its ALWAYS worth it to me to put a little extra effort into strengthening our relationship or showing Rich how much I love him.
Gift giving love experiment summary:
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