Best Holiday Gift You Can Give: Your Time To Make Memories
As some families are making Christmas shopping Lists, others are just trying to figure out how they're going to get by during the holidays this year.
Now, even more so than in years past, as the price of everything seems to have gone up and every other story you read has something to do with a shortage of this, or a possible supply chain issue, it's important to put things in perspective for a moment, and take a good hard look at what's important.
I'm all for planning ahead, and getting a good deal. And it's fun when you get to experience that feeling of joy when your child unwraps that much-anticipated gift with a giant smile on their face.
But as we gear up for things like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, I wanted to take a minute to remind you (as much as to remember myself) that sometimes the best gifts cost absolutely nothing.
These days, we are pulled in so many directions, and it seems our kids are being pulled in many, many more. And to top it all off, stress for everyone has increased significantly in the last few years. It's so easy to get caught up in the mad dash that is life, and the holiday season.
But one thing I have noticed to be true in my little corner of the world is that most of the time, memories last longer than stuff.
And what's nice about that, is you can make a memory, any time, any day ... for absolutely free! All you need is time.
And it doesn't need to be a giant chunk of it. Just a few solid minutes can lock in a lifetime feeling of happiness for your kid.
For instance, it's been a crazy week at my house. And last night, after dinner and homework had been finished, and the kids had some downtime to chill, I called them all into my room. Now, I have a pretty big bed. And on that bed, there's usually a pretty big pile of laundry. But that didn't matter. Because I picked each of my kids up, and while shouting out "whoop!", I tossed them each into the pile on the bed. Then I proceeded, to their complete surprise, to take a flying leap onto it, myself. You should have seen the shock on their faces!
"Mom just messed up the laundry pile! What's happening?!" It was priceless! After about a 10-minute tickle session, during which even my oldest, who is too cool for school, got his rear-end handed to him, we scattered our separate ways to do some chores before bedtime.
What struck me the most about this, is that as I kissed them each goodnight, later in the evening, they each, unsolicited, commented on how much fun it was to spend time together and be silly.
Time.
Time is the currency by which our kids fill their banks.
Time is what they value most. And who could blame them? So many of us spend our time looking at screens more than we do at the faces of the people who mean the most to us. That includes grown-ups, spouses, and friends ... not just our kids.
You wanna give the best gift this holiday season ... or really any day of the week? Spend some time with the ones you love. Plan even a simple outing together.
Go for a family walk.
Watch a family movie. Play a board game. Take a drive to the beach.
Make a meal together. Go Mini golfing.
Go bowling.
Make cocoa at home, throw on some coats and pile into your car to look at some holiday light displays with your kids.
They say "time is money." Well, it's really so much more, isn't it.?
Because there's always more money to be earned. But time? Well, you can't renew that resource. So spend it wisely!