Sometimes the Best Gifts Are for the People Who Didn't Have to Show Up
We're heading back to California.
Again.
Hopefully — and I say this with every finger and toe crossed — this is the trip where we finally get the house finished enough to put the damn thing on the market.
That house has been hanging over our heads for what feels like forever.
Every time we think we're getting close, something else needs fixing, painting, hauling, cleaning, repairing or dealing with.
Because apparently houses are needy as hell right up until the moment you hand somebody else the keys.
So we're loading up and heading south to tackle it again.
And this time I'm bringing a few gifts with me.
Not because there's some big occasion.
Mostly because a few people showed us exactly who they were when they absolutely didn't have to.
The People Who Show Up When They Don't Have To
There are people who help because they're family.
People who help because you've known each other forever.
And then there are the people who surprise the hell out of you.
One person did something specifically to help me when they absolutely didn't have to.
Another person we didn't know particularly well offered to come help us work on the house.
And another person we'd basically just met did the same thing.
No hints.
No awkward fishing for help.
No, "Boy, it sure would be nice if somebody came over with a paintbrush..."
They just offered.
That sticks with me.
Because everybody is busy.
Everybody has their own family, work, problems, projects and piles of crap waiting for them at home.
It would have been incredibly easy to hear what we were dealing with and say, "Wow, that sucks. Good luck."
Instead, they stepped up and offered their time.
To people they barely knew.
Sometimes you learn more about someone's character in one moment like that than you do after knowing somebody for years.
And I don't forget that kind of thing.
Not Every Gift Needs an Official Occasion
I'm bringing four of our A Little Something gift sets back with me — Wildberry and Golden Hearth.
Three are thank-yous for people who helped us.
The fourth is for a former coworker who became a friend, because it's her birthday.
And strangely enough, that's kind of the whole point.
One gift has a traditional reason behind it.
The others don't.
There isn't a greeting card aisle category for:
Thanks for voluntarily helping us deal with our pain-in-the-ass house even though you barely know us.
There probably should be.
But that's the kind of gifting I keep coming back to.
The little moments.
The people who show up.
The person having a rough week.
The neighbor who helps without being asked.
The old coworker who somehow becomes an actual friend.
The teacher who gets your kid.
The person who watched your animals.
The friend who sat there while you lost your shit and didn't try to fix you.
Those moments don't always land on a holiday.
But they're still worth acknowledging.
Sometimes "Thank You" Feels Too Small
Obviously, nobody needs a gift because they helped us.
Kindness shouldn't come with an invoice.
We're not paying anybody back with soap.
That's not what this is.
It's just a way of saying:
I noticed what you did.
I appreciate your time.
You made something hard a little easier.
Thank you.
Sometimes saying it is enough.
Sometimes writing it in a card is enough.
And sometimes you just want to put a little something in somebody's hands.
That's where these gifts come in for me.
They're not meant to be huge or extravagant.
They're just thoughtful.
Useful.
A little bit special.
And hopefully something that makes the person opening it feel cared about for a minute.
This Is What Suds & Buds Has Been Becoming
When I started Suds & Buds, I loved making the products.
I still do.
But somewhere along the way I realized I don't want this to just be another place selling soap, tallow, room sprays and shower steamers.
I want the things we make to help people connect.
To give somebody a reason to stop by.
To put something on a porch.
To send something when words feel awkward.
To celebrate somebody.
To thank them.
To remind them they're being thought about.
That's where our Someone Thought of You idea really came from.
Because sometimes the gift isn't the important part.
The important part is realizing somebody thought about you when they didn't have to.
A Thoughtful Gift Doesn't Have to Be Huge
We make gift giving way more complicated than it needs to be.
You don't need some gigantic gift basket.
You don't need perfect wrapping.
You don't need to spend a ridiculous amount of money trying to prove you care.
Bring their favorite coffee.
Bake something.
Write a note.
Drop flowers on their porch.
Give them something useful.
Give them something they wouldn't necessarily buy for themselves.
Or hand them a little gift and say thank you.
The value isn't in how much you spent.
That's the part people remember.
And Yes, We're Still Going Back to Deal With the House
So now we're packing for California again.
There will be tools.
There will be house projects.
There will probably be dust absolutely everywhere.
I'm sure something won't go according to plan.
And at least once I will probably question every decision that led us to owning property.
But hopefully this trip gets us to the finish line.
Finish the house.
Get it on the market.
Sell it.
Close that chapter.
And while we're there, there are a few people I want to make sure know their kindness mattered to us.
Because when somebody shows you their true colors in the best possible way, I think it's worth saying something.
So if somebody has shown up for you lately, don't wait for an official occasion.
Tell them.
Text them.
Write the note.
Bring the coffee.
Drop something on the porch.
Send the gift.
People deserve to know when they've made a difference.
Someone Show Up for You Lately?
Our Someone Thought of You gifts are made for real-life reasons — thank you, thinking of you, birthdays, encouragement, friendship, just because, and all the little moments that don't come printed on a calendar.
Need a gift but don't know where to start?
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SHOP SOMEONE THOUGHT OF YOU GIFTS
Not sure what to give? Grab our free Never Wonder What to Give Again: A Thoughtful Gifting Guide for Every Season of Life.
I'm really glad you're here.