Practice Poetic Gift Giving

Give a poem as a gift

Homemade gifts always make you feel extra special because someone has put time and effort into personalizing a present just for you. Have you ever thought about giving a poem as a gift?

Whether you write the poem yourself, or choose a famous poem, a poem is a gift that will show your love for your family and friends. Here are some ways that you could give a poem as a gift:

3 poetic forms that make great gifts
Writing a poem for someone is one of the best gifts that you can give. It is so special to receive a poem that is written just for you. Writing a poem is a way to tell a loved one how special they are.  It is a gift they will treasure forever. You can give any type of poem as a gift, but here are a few poetic forms which make particularly good presents:

• An Acrostic Poem
  
  An acrostic poem is a poem where the first letter of each line spells out a word vertically. They are very easy to write and make a wonderful gift, especially if you decorate them really nicely. Here is some more information about acrostic poems, and an example of an acrostic poem that was written as a gift for a girl named Jessica.
  
  To write an acrostic poem, begin by writing the name of the person you want to write about vertically down a page, with one letter of the name on each line. Then starting from each letter, write a quality that the person has, or a sentence about them. You don’t even have to rhyme!



• An Ode
  
  An Ode is a poem written in tribute to someone or something. Writing an Ode dedicated to someone that you love is a beautiful gift.
  
  You could write an Ode to your little brother and title it To my brother, on your birthday or you could write an Ode to a friend, like An Ode to Samantha. Fill the Ode with descriptions of the things you love about the person you are writing it for, and finish it with a comment about how they make you feel.
  
  Here is an Ode that a father wrote to his daughter. He published it on Family Friend Poems. Imagine what a wonderful gift that would be!



• A Sonnet
  
  A sonnet is a 14 line poem with a special rhyming scheme. Shakespearean sonnets are particularly well-known as romantic poems.
  
  You could write a sonnet praising someone you love, or telling them what you like about them. Here is an example of a Shakespearean sonnet. For more information about writing sonnets, look here and here.

What if you can’t write a poem?
Even if you don’t want to write a poem, poetry can be a wonderful gift. Make a visual representation of your loved one’s favorite poem and give it to them to hang in their home. Or find a famous poem that shows how much you care for someone and perform it from memory for them.

How to give someone a poem
A poem will always be a gift to treasure. Here are some ways you could make it even more beautiful:

• Learn the poem by heart and perform it for your loved one


• Share the poem on social media, dedicating it to your loved one, so everyone can see it


• Create a visual representation of the poem and frame it for your loved one to hang in their home


• Make a photo album of you and your loved one together and put the poem on the cover


• Make the poem into a video or slideshow and share it online or at a family gathering