Top 10 Ways of Showing Appreciation to Family Members

••From Food to Favors: Ways to Say Thank You for Family Members Appreciation.

You can tell your family members and relatives how much you value them and their contribution any day of the year. Trust me. No occasion is necessary. In fact, small surprises and tokens of your appreciation spread throughout the year help the people in your family life feel valued by you all year long.
Looking for ideas about how to praise and thank family and relatives? The opportunities are endless and limited only by your imagination.

You can thank family in these 40 different ways in your homeplace. You can use these 20 ways to tell employees that you care to promote their happiness at work.

 

You can also get in touch with what you appreciate from your family at work. While every family member has different needs for appreciation, your own needs can serve you well as a starting point.

10 Great Ways to Express Your Appreciation to Family at Home

Here are ten ways to show your appreciation to family and relatives. Why don't you go ahead and make their day?

• Praise something your family has done well. Identify the specific actions that you found admirable. This praise feels sincere since you took the time to spell out details—not just, "You did a good job." You also emphasize the actions that you'd like to see the family do more often and everybody benefits when people experience clear direction.
• Say thank you. Show your appreciation for their hard work and contributions. And, don't forget to say please often as well. Social niceties do belong at home. A more gracious, polite, civilized home is appreciated by all.
• Ask your family members about their important interests. Questions and acknowledgments about their family, their hobby, their weekend or a special event they attended are always welcome. Your genuine interest—as opposed to being nosey—causes people to feel valued and cared about. Demonstrate this interest regularly by asking questions such as, "How did Johnny's tournament turn out this weekend?"

 Offer family members flexible scheduling for the holidays, if feasible. If work coverage is critical, post a calendar so people can balance their time off with that of their families. (Note that a flexible work schedule is a benefit that family desire all of the time.)

• Present a personalized gift. Know your family’s interests well enough to present a small gift occasionally. An appreciated gift and the gesture of providing it will light up your family’s day. A greeting card serves the same purpose. You can give a card for no reason at all, to celebrate a special day such as a birthday, or to offer sympathy when a family member is ill or experiences a friend's death.  
• If you can afford to, give staff members money. End of the year bonuses, attendance bonuses, quarterly bonuses and gift certificates say "thank you" quite nicely. TechSmith staff receive a percentage of their annual salary for their end of year bonus.
• Almost everyone appreciates food. Take family or family's friend(s) to lunch for a birthday, a special occasion or for no reason at all. Let your family pick the restaurant. Or, order pizza or lunch from a caterer or a store that delivers. Schedule a brunch for a member that has met his/her current goals and over-delivers on its promised timeline.

• Create a fun tradition for a seasonal holiday. ReCellular employees draw names for their Secret Santa gift exchange. Alison Doyle, a Job Searching expert, used to work in Career Services at Skidmore College where they did a gift grab at their annual holiday party.
  
  LuAnn Johnson, who works in Human Resources at the Schaller Anderson Mercy Care Plan says, "We celebrate Treat Tuesday, every Tuesday between Thanksgiving and Christmas. We match up departments or people who don't normally work together as a unit and assign a day to provide gooey, healthy or scrumptious treats for the other groups. It's a great mixer, an opportunity to show off our culinary skills and a morale builder—to say nothing of the sugar high."

Treat family members. Bring in bagels, doughnuts or another treat for family and relatives. Offerings such as cookies or cupcakes, particularly anything that you've baked personally, are a huge hit. (Have you tried baking cupcakes in ice cream cones? People love them.) Another hit? Bring chocolate—chocolate anything.

• Finally, provide opportunity. People want chances for training and cross-training. They want to participate on a special committee where their talents are noticed. They like to attend professional association meetings and represent your family at civic and philanthropic events. Do you currently have only yourself, as head of the family, attending these events? Spread the wealth of opportunity to all family members. They will genuinely appreciate the opportunities.

These are my top ten ways to show appreciation to family members. Stretch your imagination. There are hundreds of other family and members appreciation ideas just waiting for you to find them.
They'll bring you success in family motivation, family recognition and in building a positive, productive home.
Family appreciation is never out-of-place. In fact, in many homes, it's often a scarce commodity. Make your home the exception. Use every opportunity to demonstrate your gratitude and appreciation to family members.