Preparing for the Holidays
With the holidays coming fast and furiously as families prepare their plans, they also start thinking about their traditions, values, and perspectives on how they want to capture the meaning of each celebration. As your children progress through the various stages of life, the holidays will continue to mean different things at different times. However, one constant that surfaces every year is the idea of gift giving and the anxiety and stress that comes with it. How much do you give to your children? How much do you give to others’? How do you maintain consistent values without over spending, giving too much, or giving unnecessarily to children that may have more than enough?
Pause, Reflect, and Clarify Your Values
We are living in a very instant world and although there are addictive components to wanting immediate gratification, as a result it often leads to more stress and concern as to whether or not you can keep up. It is going to be crucial this year as you move into your holiday season that you stop, step back and ask yourself what are your values? What values do you want to instill in your children? Therefore, take the lead this year, do not rely so much on what others are doing, and instead focus on what is best for your family.
If you know that too much screen time is a challenge in your home, do not buy gifts that will exacerbate that challenge. If you want your children to have strong values that help them understand holidays do not equate with more toys, items, electronics, or other short-term benefits. Take the time to think about the longer lasting value of an experience more than something wrapped in a bow that will eventually end up in a random closet or a donation bin after it was used a handful of times.
❝ It is going to be crucial this year as you move into your holiday season that you stop, step back and ask yourself what are your values? ❞
Choosing Meaningful Giving
Make the aggressive shift to decide “if we buy a myriad of superfluous toys that will rarely get used and eventually donated and start by donating toys to begin with. Help your children see the value of giving to others and then create an experience for your children instead of an item. If relatives or friends want to get a gift for your children, encourage them to invest in an experience. Help your children see that going for lunch with a friend or family member, going to a movie, going to a sporting event, a musical, or the ballet can be far more meaningful than a flavour of the month toy. Regardless of their age, help your children learn the importance of thinking about a memorable experience with the people they love, in their inner circle that they want to spend quality time with. Rather than emphasizing the money spent and all the psychological distress that accompanies that, focus on time being your coin of life with the people most important to you.
