Unique Serving Platter

The best and most appreciated gifts are always the ones that are homemade and come from the heart. Most people will appreciate a gift that is creative and shows a lot of personality that is given as a gift for any occasion. Some people have nothing, but appreciation for the most expensive gifts in life, and I’d recommend that you get rid of them before any holidays come about. But, for those who may have an appreciation for inexpensive gifts, a bit of creativity can put a lot of smiles on many faces.

It isn’t a secret that adults adore receiving handmade gifts from a child. There’s always the extra glue that sticks out from the edges, excess glitter that litters your carpet for months and lopsided pieces that were glued on ever so tenderly. When you really think about it, that appreciation doesn’t change much as the gift makers grow up. In high school, my children recreated some of the handmade ornaments that they’d once made in their younger years. I had no clue that they were doing this and to have them presented to me on Christmas Day was the best gift that they could have given me. Now that they are grown and have children of their own, each year their youthful and more mature ornaments hang on my tree. It is something that means more to me than any purchased gift ever could.

There are so many things that can be made to give to others. Some wonderful inexpensive gifts can be found in craft stores. Walk through some of the aisles and see if anything interests you. Candles can turn out to be inexpensive gifts to make and usually turn out beautifully. You can purchase a cheap basket and put several inexpensive gifts inside of it. Those gifts may be ones that you created yourself or purchased from a craft show or fair. Around Christmas time one year, I was financially strapped. As much as I wanted to, I simply didn’t have money to give many things. I definitely needed some inexpensive gifts, but elegant. I ended up making potpourri bags from dried flowers and petals, and made lots of candles as well. The best part was that I gave everyone on my list something homemade and all of the supplies had cost me less than $50. Of course, I knew that I had to be willing to put in the time for making everything as well. That’s always priceless.

By using your imagination, dedicating some time and doing some research, you can always come up with some inexpensive gifts that would be perfect for almost any reason or occasion. I guarantee that you’ll get more smiles than a typical and expected sweater would bring.

Many stories of hope come from the horror of war. The dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima in 1945 ushered in a new age of nuclear weapons. The bomb had a devastating effect on the citizens of the Japanese city. A Peace Memorial Park was made to honor the dead and to offer a space to pray for peace. Many of the victims were children, as a direct result of the blast or from illnesses caused by radiation poisoning. The Park contains a Children’s Peace Memorial in memory of them. One child has been an inspiration to the world and has been adopted as a symbol for the peace movement. Her name was Sadako Sasaki and she is famous for the Sadako Paper Cranes.

Sadako was just two years old when the bomb fell and she died from leukemia when she was twelve years old. She was familiar with the symbolism of longevity and happiness of origami cranes and she proceeded to fold them whilst she was in hospital, hoping to reach the target of 1,000. Her hope was that she could overcome her illness and save humanity from further war. She folded hundreds of them, but couldn’t reach the target. Today, there are always millions of Sadako Paper Cranes placed around the Park Memorial.

In 1958, Sadako was honored when a statue of her holding a golden crane was erected on top of the Children’s Peace Memorial. The Memorial receives thousands of visitors every year and everyone is profoundly moved by the story of the Sadako Paper Cranes. There is also a statue in dedication to Sadako and other child victims of war in the Seattle Peace Park.

Thanks to Sadako, an old Japanese legend has spread throughout the world and the Sadako Paper Cranes have become a tangible tribute to war’s innocent victims. An Eternal Flame burns at the cenotaph in the Hiroshima Peace Park. The flame will be extinguished when the final atomic weapon on earth has been destroyed. The Sadako Paper Cranes are a very simple idea, a universal way of focusing people’s attention on an event. Sadako’s dream of bringing peace to the world has not yet been realized, but she did achieve a means of bringing people together with one goal in mind. For some Japanese people, the cranes have become just as significant as cherry blossom, the annual event that represents new life and hope into the hearts of the Japanese, young and old.