The gift of time.
I don't know about you, but every Christmas Day, much as I am so grateful for all the beautiful gifts we all get for Christmas, and how blessed I know my little family is, I am also often left feeling a little uneasy by the sheer volume of it all.
All the presents, all the wrapping, all the toys (that we already have so many of...).
Over-consumption is all around us this time a year, mostly so in our part of the world. And as well as this, we are all no doubt aware of how, if we are going to turn things around with climate change and protecting our beautiful eart, we will all need to curb our consumption a little – or probably a lot.
And the thing is – and I am sure you have seen the same thing in your own homes – once the presents are opened and the toys played with for a few moments, the new-ness and novelty wear off, and they will, like a lot of the other toys in the house, be left in a pile that keeps growing every year.
I am not saying I won't get my children toys for Christmas – I know Santa will bring some. I am saying I really want to make Christmas about more than presents. I want them to know that more so than anything, Christmas is about the people and how we spend our time with them.
And this is why I absolutely love this idea that a clever granny thought up – and
gifted her two grandsons for Christmas last year.
Adventure box
One very clever 'Nonna' came up with a brilliant Christmas gift for her grandsons that doesn’t involve toys, plastic moulds or batteries. And it’s something that the entire family can enjoy throughout the year.
Meet the Adventure Box – a standard box filled with 12 brown paper envelopes, each labelled and decorated. In each envelope there is everything the family needs to enjoy a monthly activity.
Beautiful? I know.
Darlene Howell Waller shared her idea on Facebook and the world, it seemed, loved it.
One month it’s bowling and laser tag, complete with tokens to the gaming area, another month granny has got movie tickets.
There is also a trip to the horse stables, spending money for a day at Disneyland and tickets to a ball game.
And here is the deal – the boys weren't allowed to open all the envelopes on Christmas Morning. Instead, the granny instructs them they are to open one envelope on the first day of each month, meaning every month they get a surprise and a family adventure.
“This year, my sweet boys, I give you the gift of time.”
Because, let’s face it, the best gift of all is the gift of spending time with the ones you love.
