My friend and colleague Lloyd Alter has a wonderful post on TreeHugger where he suggests that the three S’s for 2010 will be “small, simple and shared.”
 
I couldn’t agree more, and to Lloyd’s three, I’d like to add a fourth: satisfied. We’ve all been on this seemingly endless quest for MORE—money, success, time, stuff. It seems fitting that 2010 should be all about not doing more with less, but rather appreciating all that we have.
 
My daughter’s birthday falls just a few days after Christmas, and truthfully there was no shortage of toys for her this year (a healthy balance of princesses and dinosaurs), but she received two gifts whose appeal will far outlast the rest.
 
One was an amazing wooden toy built by her grandfather Don. He had made it for his three kids (including my husband) when they were little to show them the value of money, both literally (five pennies = one nickel) and emotionally (every cent is valuable, so consider its use). His Fort Knox Blox is a marvel of craft and originality, and an amazing expression of the personality of its maker, a quintessential thinker/tinkerer.

The other gift was made by her grandmother Patty—an incredibly special quilt she started years ago for my husband and never finished. Inspired by her granddaughter’s interest in the way things are made, Patty picked it up again, completing it more than a decade later.

And by some strange twist of fate, it perfectly matches the unique shade of purple we painted our daughter’s room just a few weeks ago (“Lily Lavender,” to be exact). Oh, and no batteries required for either gift!

As our family sat amid a pile of ribbons, wrapping paper and destined-to-disappear Disney princess slippers, these lovingly crafted items—small, simple and shared—left us feeling so happy. And satisfied. Which, to me, bodes well for a great 2010.

Happy New Year!

[Main image: Allison Arieff]