Want to Give a Meaningful Gift This Holiday? Try This

Ever since my dad (a priest) passed away, I have been weeding through, and digitizing, the sermons he recorded on cassette.

As I was sorting the tapes, I came across one labeled as a performance of our church choir. I got very excited, because my Mom was in the choir and she was a soloist. I popped the tape in the machine, scanned through the performance and there it was; my Mom's voice.

I had not heard her voice since 1981. That's when she died. As I listened, I immediately thought to copy it and email it to my siblings. This was the most valuable gift I have ever given to anyone.

As I posted about my find on Facebook, many of my friends commented how precious hearing their deceased parents voices would be. Bingo! What a great present to hand down.

Here is the fleshed out Christmas gift idea: create a video of you talking about something your future generations would be fascinated by. Family history or stuff like that. Put it on a DVD and also email it to them (after Christmas).

You have no idea what impact that gift will have down the road. Show your personality in the video. Tell jokes if you want to!

If you aren't comfortable in front of a camera, just record your voice. That works!

Happy present making!