The 5 non-material gifts that your children will never forget

In recent decades we have witnessed the decline of the original sense of cooperation, communal exchange, and renewal of family and friendship ties, of winter festivities. The rites of yesteryear, focused on celebrating, all together, the passage of time, the joy of life and the beginning of a new period, have been replaced by excessive shopping, pressure and consumerism.

This change has not only affected adults, but also children. Therefore, in this article, I want to suggest some intangible gifts that you can offer your children this Christmas. They are not gifts to keep in a drawer or a closet, they are intangible goods loaded with love and emotional health for everyone.

1. A day of technological disconnection to reflect

To begin with, what do you think that for one day, the Wi-Fi, mobile phones, tablets are turned off and you recover the way that families had to live together in the past? Put aside these distractions, notifications, Youtubethe post office, the work… and spend this day talking, playing games, reading together as a family, taking stock of the year that is ending.

What do you highlight from your year? What changes do you want to introduce in your family? How do you feel? What are your sorrows, hopes? What wishes do you all harbor for the new year?

Speaking in confidence, listening, and answering sincerely helps create strong and lasting bonds in the family.

If your children are still too young to talk, play with them, spend all day with them, tell them stories, do crafts with them. For your children, more than the typical Christmas gifts, what matters most in life is feeling loved and protected by you.

2. Attend a concert together

During these festivals, our towns and cities are filled with music. Together, choose a concert that you would like to attend and go enjoy it all together. A concert, if possible, in which the public can participate, sing and laugh. Relax, sing, shake hands, enjoy the music together, the emotions it brings.

Participating in a playful activity together will help you get away from the stress that you share during the year.

Sometimes, that accumulation of stress acts as an emotional inhibitor that separates you and pushes you to take refuge in your own world so as not to feel hurt. Sharing relaxed activities together will help you regain empathy and perspective on your lives, their differences and their similarities.

3. Cook the Christmas menu together

Another family activity that can bring a lot of richness to your relationship is share your time cooking the holiday food together. No matter how old your children are, together you can decide the menu and prepare the dishes together.

Let the children participate in the choice of dishes and the preparation of these. Be open to eating macaroni on New Year’s Eve if that’s what you all decide.

The important thing about this meal is that your children understand that you trust them, that everyone in the family is equally important and that you all have your place, your responsibilities and your decision-making power in the family. Knowing that they are loved and recognized has a very positive effect on children’s self-esteem.

4. A special afternoon with each of the brothers

If you have several children, it is important that everyone is aware of your unconditional love and your particular affection for each one of them. This holiday season, It would be very important that you dedicate a special afternoon to each one of them.

Everyone has to be aware that you love them, appreciate them and want to take care of them with the same affection.

Take him for a walk, invite him to have a snack, that afternoon, you can pay particular attention to him, that you can talk, exchange, play, without interruptions, just you together. This is a very good way to reinforce the self-image and self-concept of all your children.

5. Let go of the old to walk towards the future

Finally, another very beneficial activity that you can all do together as a family is choose a series of objects, toys, books, that you no longer need to sell, donate or give them away. In this way, together, you can clean (physically and symbolically) your family space, letting go of the old so that the new can enter.

Life is a continuous path in which we leave behind experiences and experiences of all kinds. All together, as a family, we can grow and learn to assimilate all kinds of circumstances, leaving the past behind, sharing the present and remaining open and receptive to the changes of the future.