Why not give a gift of time this Christmas? To your kids, nephews, nieces, grandchildren…maybe even the boy or girl next door. It’s easy!
If you’re a parent/caregiver, create a list of things you’d like to give your son/daughter that money alone can’t buy. If you’re a grandparent, uncle/aunt, friend or neighbour, simply take the time to run your idea by parents or responsible adults in the young people’s lives…and if permission’s granted…and it usually is…start getting creative about what young people need and want…and what you have to offer. Remember to not shortchange yourself. If you have a healthy interest in children, you have something to offer.
Many years ago my wife Maureen and I struggled with what for us had become a recurring question every Christmas.
How do we take some of the commercial factor out of our Christmas giving to our three kids? We agreed that for our first try we’d create a Christmas Gift Certificate. What follows is some of the ideas contained in a resulting letter to our kids. Just to spice it up a little we included a friend of our sons who’d recently experienced a major loss in his family.
If you happen to be an asset builder take the time to learn which of the forty life building blocks could be introduced or enhanced in the lives of the children you select. If the 40 Developmental Asset idea is new to you, simply take a few minutes to think back to a significant person in your life who made a lasting difference by taking the time to share their experience, values, encouragement with you. If you had one or more, and most of us do… it’s payback time folks.
As you glance over the ideas we came up with, you’ll find that not surprisingly some had a financial component… but always there is a more important non-monetary component. And incidentally, this approach gave all of us a year of fun and satisfaction which we seldom realized from more traditional money-based gifts under the tree.
Here’s a framework for the letter…. Enhanced somewhat to give you a wider range of possibilities to consider;
CHRISTMAS GIFT CERTIFICATE…. ISSUED DECEMBER 25th 1976
TO…
Here is where you put the individual name of each child/young person you wish to gift (i.e., daughters/sons, grandchildren, nephews, nieces, neighbors kids or a boy or girl important in your life). The more individualized and personalized the better, so go for individual Certificates rather than long lists of recipients.
ENTITLING THEM TO THE FOLLOWING GIFTS WHICH MAY BE REDEEMED BY THEM ON OR BEFORE DECEMBER 25th, 1977
- Your attendance with us. January 4, 1976 – Stampede Corral to watch the Harlem Globetrotters play the California Chiefs. I buy the tickets. You girls/guys responsible to respond if they want audience volunteers!
- Our promise to attend as many of your games, contests, recitals, tryouts, track meets, bottle drives and miscellaneous activities as we can, with the accompanying promise we’ll cheer for you when you participate well and fairly and tell you quietly afterwards when we think there’s room for improvement.
- As much time as it takes us together to build models, repair bikes, prepare meals, cut lawns and keep our houses from falling apart.
- That custom-built two storey doll house we’ve been talking about for years. We do the building and furnishing…you do the designing and cleaning when it’s finished.
- At least two fishing trips during 1976 – maybe one ice fishing expedition followed by a trip to the Hot Springs.
- Accompanying you to a father and son banquet and at least two other activities you think it’s important we attend together.
- A one-week camping or canoeing trip to the Bowron Lakes in British Columbia – provided of course that you do the cooking and paddling and I’m left with the eating and sleeping.
- So we all can better understand and appreciate the importance of volunteering…we’ll arrange for all of us to offer our services for a day at a Seniors Home, soup kitchen, children’s agency or somewhere each of you feel you want to make a difference in the lives of others less fortunate that us.
- A promise we’ll go for as many walks and bike rides with you as we can because we’re going to have to get in shape if we intend to keep all of these promises.
- Lastly and maybe most importantly – as many hours of our time as you need during the year to talk about things that are important to you because we know kids have a lot of things they want to talk about like school, friends, dreams, honesty/respect, compassion, racism, girls/boys, sadness, happiness, war & peace, Harry Potter, and Xbox.
Like all really important gifts in life, this one has little value in dollars and is as much for the giver as it is for the receiver. You see the more you collectively and individually you use these gift certificates, the more happy and satisfying 1976 will be for us. Interesting thought at Christmas eh! That you and I will attain our highest levels of personal development when we’re doing something for somebody else!
Merry Christmas to the four of you… luv ya!
**Quick Update…many people have started to contact me directly to say that you plan to do this for your own family which is so amazing! I would love to hear about what you have planned and then you can be part of this storytelling process next year. Please take a moment to send me what you decided to do with your children…I want to hear your story.