Since the start of the pandemic, all types of gatherings have been prohibited from reducing the risk of infection, and this has led us to turn to virtual ways to connect with our families. Given that quarantine protocols call for isolation and social distancing, showing our appreciation in person is extra hard these days.
Although traditional ways of showing how grateful we are for the people in our lives have been banned, we can still express our gratitude by taking advantage of the tools available online.
Avail of a Monthly Subscription
Sadness and boredom are the most pervasive emotions during quarantine life, so to uplift the spirits of your loved ones, you can give them subscriptions to some delightful things, like books, flowers, and even streaming platforms. Flowers are a natural way to boost a person’s mood, thanks to their beautiful colors and lovely scent. Books and streaming platforms will entertain them and serve as a welcome distraction from anxious thoughts about the pandemic.
Provide Gift Checks
At a loss on what to get your friends? Try giving them gift cards or gift checks. Every present is welcome to a grateful heart, but a gift that can be useful in a friend’s everyday life is tenfold better. A good way to ensure that is by giving them leave to choose what they want. You can present them with gift cards, checks, or prepaid debit cards, which they can use to shop at their chosen online stores.
Treat Them to a Meal
If there is one thing that can brighten up anyone’s day, it’s delicious food. An idea perfect for the foodie in your life, having their favorite dishes delivered right at their doorstep will surely make their day. Let a special someone know you’re thinking about them using food delivery apps to order delicious meals and even leave a message to motivate them throughout the day.
Stay Fit Together
Doing activities as a way to bond can also be received with much appreciation. You can keep a friend company, even miles away, by inviting them to become your workout buddy. To make this work, you can build your own routine, follow instructors from YouTube videos, or purchase an online gym membership. By asking a close buddy to join you in your online cardio sessions, you will not only help them stay fit but also make them feel appreciated by spending time with them virtually.
Create a Playlist
We tend to turn to songs whenever we’re doing different tasks, bored, or overwhelmed with certain emotions. Now that we’re stuck in quarantine, it’s normal to feel multiple emotions a day, and that’s nothing short of draining. To show your support to your friends in isolation, collating songs and grouping them in different playlists fit for listening when they’re feeling happy, sad, in love, or excited can at least boost their mood. As a fun activity, you can also ask them to give you their playlist, so you can discover new songs and know what kind of tunes your chum listens to.
Send Letters
You can never go wrong with a simple yet heartfelt gift. Pouring out your emotions or expressing your gratefulness to the people you love is sometimes more appreciated than physical presents. A letter is a lovely gift idea, especially one that is written with genuine feelings since it has the ability to tug at a person’s heartstrings.
To make it unique, you can turn your letter into a creative video message or a fun PowerPoint presentation explaining why the recipient of your letter is wonderful and is very much appreciated.
Have a Virtual Bonding Time
This pandemic has robbed families and close friends the time to bond and hang out. Couples are also victims because they were forced to be in long-distance relationships. Setting up virtual dinners with your family, movie or game nights with your friends, or dates with your special someone are great ideas to make up for a lost time. By scheduling online meetups, you can be updated on everyone’s lives and stay connected with them from the safety of your home.
Be There
You can express your gratitude to the people you love by simply asking how their day went. You’d think that finding time to communicate is easy now that we get loads of time by staying at home, but in reality, mustering the energy to be social, even just for a short virtual chat, is hard.
There’s nothing wrong with wanting to keep to yourself during these times, but it is also important to check on your friends once in a while. You can establish consistent communication by simply sending a loved one a message or giving them a call.
Some virtual gifts are intangible, but when given with a grateful heart, your recipients will be more than thankful for your small kind act.
