The Best Gift

There’s corny Christmas music blasting from the speakers, shiny tinsel and decorations adorn the malls and a beleaguered old Father Christmas sits in the middle. Yup, it’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas! And although I love this time of year, over the last few years (as I’ve scurried around overcrowded shops accumulating more stuff my loved ones don’t really need), I’ve begun to wonder if I’m missing the point. Worse still, if I’m passing this ‘missing of the point’ on to my kids.

That’s why, this festive season, we’ve decided to give ourselves and our kids the gift of… less.

Less gifts

Instead of getting our kids lots of gifts, we’re going to buy them one thing each. Just. One. Thing. In previous years, we’ve already tried to get our kids less arbitrary gifts, but we’re taking it to a whole new level this year. Why? Well, for them – to learn how to value and appreciate one really special thing, and for us – to cut down on needless time, money and stress spent accumulating more and more stuff for our kids (who already have everything they need).

This might be going too far for you, and I understand how different families and people might value gifts differently – that’s totally OK. Just remember that no amount of gifts will ever replace the best gift: love and real connection with the ones we love most.

Less activities

Instead of filling every day and hour with people to see and places to go, we’re heading into these holidays with a lot more wide, open space in our diaries planned. In our busy lives, space to really just ‘be’ is the ultimate luxury.

And mums, don’t fear this space and assume you have to then entertain your kids: in a world over-saturated with bright lights and things to do 24/7, letting our kids get bored is a luxury too few kids are ever allowed to experience! In our home, it’s precisely when the screens are turned off, and the noise is turned down, that new ideas can be born, that imaginations can be raised back to life and that creative thoughts can begin to grow. So here’s permission to be a little lovingly negligent and let the kids make their own fun.

More love bombs

The one thing we’re not scaling back on (but instead want to increase) is our collective gratitude and generosity levels as a family.

So this festive season, to help my kids partake in the unrivalled joy of giving (not just receiving), I have again asked each of them to think about one person in their life that they would like to ‘love bomb’. This has to be someone that had helped them or us, but that often goes unthanked for their hard work. Last year, my kids chose to love bomb: the police at our local police station who keep us all safe, Lovemore (a local car guard they’d gotten to know a little), a young kids church volunteer, the nurses at the hospital our twins were born at and a guy who helped us paint our house.

We put together hampers for each of these sets of people and the kids each made thank you cards (the little ones dictated their messages and I wrote them out for them).  Then we all got in the car and drove around town delivering our love bombs to these beautiful and unsuspecting peeps!

It was one of the highlights of our year.

Upon giving Lovemore his parcel, my 4-year-old Sam was particularly elated and declared: “This is my best Christmas ever!”

May you find and share in the best gifts of love, joy and peace this season too.

Written by: Julie Williams – Lifestyle Editor