It’s almost Christmas—that glorious time of celebration and gift giving. It’s a time of affirmation and joy that we share with those we love and care about.

I want to suggest a type of gift-giving that won’t send you scurrying back to the mall, fighting crowds and racking your brain for just that right thing to give. It’s the gift of appreciation. And it’s for your workers who’ve been carrying out their assigned ministries faithfully, but unfortunately are too often unnoticed and unappreciated.

Christmas is a perfect time to pause and recognize each and every one of these wonderful stewards of time and talents. Believe it or not, one of the things volunteers say they appreciate most is a bit of personal time with their leaders. They love to have a chance to talk about what has gone well and what hasn’t. This is also a great time to not only evaluate the past few months, but dream together about ministry in the new year. Just knowing that you’ve noticed and care is a powerful motivator.

One of the most affirming things you can do is to ask for your folks’ ideas and suggestions. They can offer you great insights and frequently their suggestions create opportunities for improvement as you continue to work together. Obviously this also demonstrates that you respect their opinions and experiences.

Recognition expert Betty Stallings believes that 95% of good volunteer recognition is observing whether the people are in the right position. Let me share an example of this. A good friend of mine, Jane Justis, told me this story about a volunteer she had placed while working as Volunteer Director for Young Life.

This volunteer’s role was to do data entry in the morning in a small office outside our reception area. Then in the afternoon she switched to the reception area where she greeted people and answered phone calls. Almost immediately I noticed that in the morning, when she was supposed to be doing data entry, it was almost impossible to keep her on task. She kept coming out into the reception area to see what was going on. Or she’d hear something and have to jump up and check it out. Very little data entry was getting done.

In the afternoon, when she switched to the reception area, she would have lengthy conversations with anyone who called, whether she knew them or not. I quickly realized that I had put a right person in a wrong position and set out to find her the right role. (This is one reason evaluating volunteers is so important. It catches inappropriate placements before you lose a good volunteer.)

She became an assistant volunteer director for half the day and answered phones the other half. She loved both her positions and was excellent at them both. She even recruited people to volunteer while on the phone working as a receptionist! She eventually went on to become an event planner—a ministry that was perfect for her.

Experts tell us that volunteer recognition doesn’t have to be big, costly, or public. It’s more effective when it’s personal (and plentiful.)

I love recognition that has the sense of celebration and fun, and is spontaneous and timely:

• A party or picnic after your team has achieved a goal you set together.
• Giving a package of Life Savers candies to the volunteer who really “saved your life” in that youth program.
• Presenting a light bulb to the church council member who came up with that bright idea to enliven your worship service.
• Giving a scented candle to that faithful office volunteer with a note that says, “No one holds a candle to you!”
• A fortune cookie with the message “It’s our good fortune to have found you.”
• A small hour glass with a note saying, “Your time is precious—thanks for sharing it with us.”
• Put a planter with a bag of seeds on their desk with a note saying “You helped plant the seeds of caring.”

Use your own creativity and have fun. Remember, everyone loves to hear those two magic words…thank you.

Marlene Wilson has written and trained on volunteer issues for 35 years. More than a quarter of a million people have attended her workshops.

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