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Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,

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Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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Speaker 1: tip is to give gifts that money can't buy. Gifts

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Speaker 1: of time and expertise can be a great way to

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Speaker 1: get loved ones what they really need and to strengthen

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Speaker 1: relationships at the same time. If you've visited a gift

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Speaker 1: registry at baby List lately, you have probably had the

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Speaker 1: opportunity to select the usual gear for expectant parents, such

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Speaker 1: as baby clothes and strollers, but you may also have

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Speaker 1: been able to select unexpected gifts like a homemade meal,

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Speaker 1: help with dog walking, or various other chores that can

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Speaker 1: fall by the wayside during the busy newborn days. I

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Speaker 1: love the idea of registering for a gift that doesn't

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Speaker 1: come from a store. Sure, new parents could simply ask

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Speaker 1: relatives or friends to babysit or cook them a meal,

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Speaker 1: or mow their yard, but asking for help isn't easy,

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Speaker 1: especially when you don't have a sense of whether the

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Speaker 1: person has the time to help you out, and when

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Speaker 1: you are so overwhelmed that even thinking through what needs

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Speaker 1: to be done and who might be able to help

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Speaker 1: feels like one more thing to do. By registering for

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Speaker 1: gifts of time and expertise, expectant parents create a way

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Speaker 1: people can show that they would like to help. Taking

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Speaker 1: them up on these formal offers is a lot easier

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Speaker 1: than asking cold. Registering for services also honors providing a

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Speaker 1: meal or babysitting, or doing house or yard work as

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Speaker 1: the gifts that they truly are. Now.

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Speaker 2: I know this isn't the usual approach for registries, but

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Speaker 2: for gift giving and receiving in general, there is a

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Speaker 2: lot to be said for getting out of the mindset

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Speaker 2: that gifts have to be material things purchased somewhere. Many

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Speaker 2: people would prefer to avoid more clutter, and certainly, by

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Speaker 2: the time people are having their second or third or

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Speaker 2: fourth kid, they probably have a lot of baby gear

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Speaker 2: and toys already. If you are invited to a wedding

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Speaker 2: for people who are past their twenties, or maybe are

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Speaker 2: even on their second marriages, they probably already have dishes. Indeed,

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Speaker 2: if they are combining two households, they likely have more

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Speaker 2: dishes than they need. But gifts of time and expertise

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Speaker 2: are different. These are about helping to make people's lives

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Speaker 2: easier or more enjoyable. So if your friend who is

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Speaker 2: having a new baby loves your veggie lasagna, make her

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Speaker 2: a few of them for freezing so no one has

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Speaker 2: to cook for several nights. If you are not a cook,

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Speaker 2: you can go pick up take out for them for

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Speaker 2: three tuesdays in a row. Just wrap up a little

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Speaker 2: certificate saying that's what you are going to do as

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Speaker 2: a baby gift, and text to confirm that it works.

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Speaker 2: I think most new parents would appreciate that more than

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Speaker 2: a third copy of Goodnight Moon. If a new couple

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Speaker 2: is furnishing their apartment and you've got decorating expertise, you

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Speaker 2: could offer to help them pick out a new couch.

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Speaker 2: You could offer to help frame and hang a few

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Speaker 2: wedding photos. And if you've got friends whose expertise you admire,

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Speaker 2: you can ask for that as a gift too. If

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Speaker 2: a stylish friend asks what you would like for your birthday,

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Speaker 2: ask her to take you shopping. You will enjoy the

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Speaker 2: time to gather and you will likely buy items you

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Speaker 2: are pleased with thanks to her guidance. Now, obviously you

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Speaker 2: need some self awareness with all this. If you think

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Speaker 2: highly of your own artistic ability but aren't sure that

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Speaker 2: anyone else does. Maybe don't create a wall sized mural

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Speaker 2: for someone thinking it's going to be welcomed. Think about

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Speaker 2: ways to reduce the mental load for gift recipients too.

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Speaker 2: Just telling someone that you will babysit some night means

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Speaker 2: the other person then has to check in and see

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Speaker 2: what your schedule is and then plan around that. Instead,

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Speaker 2: why not offer three slots when you are ready and

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Speaker 2: willing and just see which the person wants most. But

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Speaker 2: when it works out, giving gifts that money can't buy

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Speaker 2: can often reduce waste and give the recipients something they

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Speaker 2: really want. If you wind up spending time together, you

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Speaker 2: can strengthen the relationship too, which is a lot of

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Speaker 2: value for something without a specific price tag. In the meantime,

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Speaker 2: this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making

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Speaker 2: the most of our time. Hey everybody, I'd love to

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Speaker 2: hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,

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Speaker 2: or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook,

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Speaker 2: and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod that's b the number

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Speaker 2: four then Breakfast pod. You can also shoot me an

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Speaker 2: email at Before Breakfast Podcasts at iHeartMedia dot com. That

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Speaker 2: Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks

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Speaker 2: so much, Should I look forward to staying in touch.

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Speaker 2: Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts

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Speaker 2: from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

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Speaker 2: you listen to your favorite shows.