It's the thought that counts

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English Phrase: It’s the thought that counts

We’re coming up on Christmas.

It’s the time of year when we want to show our love and appreciation to others by giving them something special.

We also often forget it’s the thought that counts, not the value of the gift.


It’s the thought that counts means the cost of a present or the size of a gesture is unimportant.

The intention and kindness count more.


I love and enjoy the traditions of Christmas.

Yes, putting up and trimming the tree is time-consuming and taking out all the boxes from storage is a real pain in the you-know-what.

It doesn’t matter what’s under the tree; it’s only the thought that counts.

Often, the presents are small, but the gesture behind them is significant.

Many parents make enormous sacrifices for their kids at this time of year.

Poor Peter must be sitting in his house with a rocket launcher and machine gun because he gets robbed so often before the holidays.

Paul, on the other hand, is raking it in.

He’s laughing all the way to the bank.

Most kids never realize it’s the thought that counts until they are much older or have kids of their own.

They never understand the kindness, love and sacrifice that goes into every present under the tree.

As long as the intention and desire to please is there, the monetary cost of the gift doesn’t matter.

Brand-name products or expensive things have little value if they are unwillingly given or wrapped with regret instead of love.

If you’re Japanese and you’re reading this, you’re probably not going to receive any おとしだま (otoshidama) this year.

Dare I say you’re too old for that?

Although when you were a child, you may never have received as much as you wanted, it was never about the numbers – it was and still is the thought that counts.


Flesch-Kincaid Readability Test

This post is understandable by someone with at least a 7th-grade education (age 12).

On the Flesch-Kincaid reading-ease test, this post scores 75.

The higher the score on a scale of 0 – 100, the easier the passage is to read.