Deck The Cards?

I heard about this fabulous (and practically FREE) gift idea when our music teacher said that she received the most thoughtful present from a friend, and it was . . . wait for it . . . a deck of cards.  Are you kidding me? I wondered silently. What could possibly be so s.p.e.c.i.a.l. about a 50-cent deck of cards?  She went on to explain that the cards were personalized with 52 things that her friend loves about her.  Not random, generic things, but very specific examples of things that connected them on a personal level.  I thought about that gift all day long, then I came straight home from school to give it a try.  I decided to type my appreciations; I'm leaving in a few minutes to go buy a sheet of stickers to type onto so I don't have to glue these sentiments down, but here's what the first few cards and the decorated box look like:

I'm going to make a deck for my sister (sure hope she's not reading this!).  

This little idea has B.I.G. potential . . . think 52 . . . yep, you could actually spread this gift out all year long, between holidays or birthdays or from January 1st to year's end . . . give one a week until your special someone collects the whole deck. And you can change how you personalize them, too.  How fun would My 52 Favorite Memories With You be?  Or 52 Things About You That Make Me Smile.  Maybe even 52 Ways That You Positively Influence People.  Or 52 Sparkle Words That Describe You! You'll be sprinkling JOY every time whoever gets this gift sits down with his or her favorite deck to play a friendly game of cards.

Here's the deck my sister and I made for our MOM!