Many families fall into a pattern of taking each other for granted. It’s easy to do. You assume everyone already knows you love them, so there’s no real need to point that out in any special way.

But that’s unfortunate, because we don’t always feel our loved ones love us back. Especially if they treat us badly sometimes and don’t balance those times with apologies and times when they treat us well.

The truth is that it’s never a bad idea to let your family know you love them. Whether it’s in actual words or in actions, the important thing is that it happens often enough. And maybe sometimes that could include a grand gesture: something big and thoughtful that shows someone how much they mean to you.

The grand gesture in practice

A grand gesture does not have to cost money. It is meant to show how much you care—not how much you can afford. The important thing is that it shows you put time and attention into pleasing someone.

For example, let’s say your wife’s favorite color is purple and she loves flowers. As a grand gesture, you go to a nearby field and pick a lovely bouquet of purple wildflowers. You arrange them in her favorite vase with a pretty purple ribbon, write something sweet on a card attached to it, then ask your daughter to play the part of “delivery person” to bring them to the door.

Costs nothing, but makes your wife feel very special and loved.

Or maybe your son would really like to go to a car show—something you usually don’t want to do with him. As a grand gesture, you could mow the lawn (something he was going to have to do) so he suddenly has a free Saturday, make arrangements with your spouse to keep his schedule open, then surprise him that morning with news that you two will be going to the show.

It’s free and lets him know how important he is to you.

Better still, you’ll find it feels really good to do something so nice for the people you love!

Not just for families

You’ll find this strategy is quite effective any time you want to show someone you care. Developing a habit of offering thoughtful gestures for others will serve you well in life.

Who wouldn’t want a grand gesture every once in a while to let them know they are loved?