Family New Year's Gift

If you want to aim to have a more simpler Christmas with much less focus on gift giving, but still want a special time of year to get a big gift for the family, one suggestion is to hold off on putting that gift under the tree and waiting until New Year's Day to reveal it. This way you can focus more on the real reason for the season, worshiping Christ and helping the poor, sick and forgotten. Then once Christmas has past and everyone if left with the warm fuzzy feeling inside you can reward them a week later with a big announcement or surprise:)

You might have a family trip to Disneyland planned or a cruise for you and The Mr. (not me because I am scared to death of living on the ocean;) or Special Daddy Date planned with each kid. Or a large purchase like a big screen TV (or course you probably bought that on Black Friday and if you are The Mr. there was no hesitation in hanging it on the wall;)

This year we were going to give our kids the gift of flying on an airplane with Dad, since they always beg me to let them go with Dad to work when we drop him off at the airport. But for one reason or another it kept slipping my mind for Christmas and we never got the tickets printed out (luckily my Dad has buddy passes and it isn't going to cost us a whole lot.) But I think this is the perfect gift to start the new year. Some special time with Dad. A memory that is sure to be cherished.

Other ideas might be a annual pass to a museum, aquarium, a rock climbing gym, the state national parks and so on. Focus on a family gift that will bring your closer together as a family in the coming year.

I know this kind of gift is also the perfect gift for Christmas, so if you can't wait the week, or it doesn't feel right, then don't. But for me, it makes the turn of the year feel a little more anticipated. Something to focus our thoughts on and plan for. An easy segway into helping your kids set goals for the new year:)

We might even tape streamers across the door tonight after the kids are in bed so that they have something to burst out of in the morning! I thought of doing this for Christmas, but then I thought that would again put the focus on presents instead of the quiet reverence for Christ that I would hope they would feel Christmas morning.