1.    Take a hot bath when you get home. Use bubble bath or fragrant bath oil in the tub. Relax as long as you like. Put on your favorite music and light candles      instead of using your regular bathroom lights while in the tub. If you don’t have a tub, take a long hot luxurious shower. Wash yourself with fragrant shower gel.

2.    Buy yourself a big bouquet of flowers and put them in several vases around your house and office. Try using a special container you don’t normally use for flowers. Put a glass inside to hold water...fill with flowers... enjoy.

3.    Buy yourself a "mini" gift for $5 or less. Try the toy store for a change or buy some colorful stickers at the stationers to put everywhere. Here are some more ideas; colored pens, a special “mini” journal, fun magazines you don’t normally buy, make-up, bathing supplies, other small books, candles, flowers, a comic book or a small plant. 

4.    Cook something special for yourself that you really love to eat like comfort food or a special dessert. Savor the smell and taste of the food as you prepare and eat it. Try eating slowly to prolong the enjoyment. 

5.    Decide to throw yourself a special birthday party this year. Plan to have everything at this party that you always wanted when you were young. Choose exactly the cake, ice cream, prizes and gifts you love. Be sure to buy a few special presents for yourself so you get what you really want. Create the “perfect” party for yourself! This is a chance for you to be a “kid” again and really enjoy your birthday! 

6.    Make an appointment to get a massage, sit in a hot tub or do something to pamper yourself that you don't normally do. Have your nails done or get a special hair or spa treatment. 

7.    Buy yourself a small houseplant for your home or office.  If you don't know how to care for it, get a book from the library or take a class and learn.

8.    Spend a day smiling more than you normally do. Notice if the people you come into contact with smile back.

9.    Start writing a list of fun and nurturing goals for the next day. Put them on your “to do” list and enjoy crossing them off as you complete them.

10.    Go to the store and check out all the nice hand lotions that are there. You also might want to see what they have at your health food store. Enjoy shopping and don’t buy a single brand until you find just the right one for you. 

11.    Massage your hands, wrists and forearms for five or ten minutes. Put your favorite lotion on them before you do this.

12.    Take yourself out on a date to your favorite restaurant and a special movie, play, concert or other event...be romantic and buy yourself a small gift. Sometimes it’s good to experience things on your own instead of being distracted by having someone else with you. It gives you an opportunity to get to know yourself better and enjoy your own company for a change. 

13.    Care for your feet by massaging them for a few minutes. Go to your local health food store and look for a foot roller, try it out and see if you like it. Give your feet a “mini” bath in a dishpan or large pot. Afterwards, put some special oil or lotion on them that has a fragrance you love!

14.    Buy some bubble-blowing supplies from your local toy store. If you don’t have children, you’ll be surprised at the tiny to giant size bubbles you can blow. Enjoy blowing the bubbles and looking at the iridescent colors on them. 

15.    Create a personal gift basket. This will be a very special collection of nurturing things just for you. Put lots of things in the basket that make you feel good and that you can take out and use on a moment's notice, for example: Colored pens, finger paints and paper, stickers, magazines (to cut pictures from or to read), essential oil, your journal or dream book, a scrapbook, photo album or stationery. Can you think of more things to put here? Please email us with your ideas at email.  

16.    When someone asks you what you’d like, tell him or her the truth. You deserve to have exactly what you want!  Ask for what you want directly and expect to get it.

17.    Buy new underwear or socks and throw out the old ones. 

18.    Buy an essential oil that smells really good to you at your local health food store and keep it nearby where you can smell it.  You could put some oil on a piece of tissue and stash it around your house, in your drawers or closets to make things smell good. You might also like to try burning sage or incense to get pleasant scents into your home. Burning fragrant candles and cooking potpourri are some other possibilities.

19.    Create a nurturing nook in your home. Make sure you have a comfortable chair and your personal gift basket. Add a magazine rack, hobby items, hand lotion, essential oil and anything else that makes you feel cared for and pampered.

20.    Go out and splurge on clothes you really love. If you’re on a budget, what you get could be something small but make it really wonderful.