12 Gifts Your Kids Will NEVER Forget

Becoming Minimalist has put together an awesome list of 35 gifts your children will never forget.  We all love finding the perfect thing. We love being a part of the Christmas memories that will last our children a lifetime!  I can still remember the year my mom got me my first bicycle and that Easy Bake Oven my grandmother found.  Those were great gifts!

But the Christmas memories I cherish the most weren't wrapped in red and green paper. It's not the material gifts that make up my favorite Christmas memories.

Very few childhood memories actually include the gifts I received. I distinctly remember the year that I got a blue dirt bike, the evening my brother and I received a Nintendo, and opening socks every year from my grandparents. But other than that, my gift-receiving memories are pretty sparse. Which got me thinking… what type of gifts can we give to our children that they will never forget? What gifts will truly impact their lives and change them forever?

Joshua Becker, a writer for Becoming Minimalist, has put together an alphabetical list of 35 ideas.  I love it! Here are a dozen of my favorite ideas from the list:

1. Art. With the advent of the Internet, everyone who wants to create… can. The world just needs more people who want to…

2. Contentment. The need for more is contagious. Therefore, one of the greatest gifts you can give your children is an appreciation for being content with what they have… but not with who they are.

3. Curiosity. Teach your children to ask questions about who, what, where, how, why, and why not. “Stop asking so many questions” are words that should never leave a parents’ mouth.

4. Finding Beauty. Help your children find beauty in everything they see… and in everyone they meet.

5. Generosity. Teach your children to be generous with your stuff so that they will become generous with theirs.

6. Hugs and Kisses. I once heard the story of a man who told his 7-year old son that he had grown too old for kisses. I tear up every time I think of it. Know that your children are never too old to receive physical affirmation of your love for them.

7. Imagination. If we’ve learned anything over the past 20 years, it’s that life is changing faster and faster with every passing day. The world tomorrow looks nothing like the world today. And the people with imagination are the ones not just living it, they are creating it.

8. Your Lap. It’s the best place in the entire world for a book, story, or conversation. And it’s been right in front of you the whole time.

9. Lifelong Learning. A passion for learning is different from just studying to earn a grade or please teachers. It begins in the home. So read, ask questions, analyze, and expose. In other words, learn to love learning yourself.

10. Meals Together. Meals provide unparalleled opportunity for relationship, the likes of which can not be found anywhere else. So much so, that a family that does not eat together does not grow together.

11. Nature. Children who learn to appreciate the world around them take care of the world around them. As a parent, I am frequently asking my kids to keep their rooms inside the house neat, clean, and orderly. Shouldn’t we also be teaching them to keep their world outside neat, clean, and orderly?

12. Opportunity. Kids need opportunities to experience new things so they can find out what they enjoy and what they are good at. And contrary to popular belief, this doesn’t have to require much money.

I can think of creative ways to “give” these gifts to our children too!  For instance, how about a trip to a nearby state park for teaching your children to find beauty and appreciate nature?  The warm December we are having perfectly lends itself to such trips.  Christmas dinner is a great opportunity to have a meal together and inviting others who don't have family nearby can help gift your own children with generosity.

Still looking for more ideas?  Check out the rest of the alphabetical list at Becoming Minimalist and share your ideas for “gifting” your kids with these awesome things in the comments.