With the holiday craziness in full swing, it’s easy to get sucked into the gift economy–purchasing gifts for everyone in our lives. Recently, one of our community members shared a story we think may resonate for many.

She said, “As as a mom of two young children, I am often asked what they want for the holidays. I struggle so much with that question. We are fortunate and my children do not need anything. Truthfully, they often find the holidays overwhelming with the gifts they do receive. When I am about to make a last-minute impulse purchase, I often remember a conversation I had with a good friend, who is a mother of three.

We were out on a walk and I asked her what she was doing for the weekend. She told me she was spending Saturday with her youngest daughter – she had redeemed one of her holiday tickets for a one-on-one day with mom. Each year, one of my friend’s stocking stuffers for her kids is a homemade ticket book. The tickets are things like ‘Pick the game for family game night,’ ‘One-on-one time with Mom’ and ‘Day out with Grandmom.’ It is her children’s most-prized holiday gift. For months after they receive the books, they debate when to use the tickets. They crave the items on the tickets so much that they hold onto the anticipation of items for as long as possible. In fact, our conversation about the ticket book took place in March. Her youngest took three months to redeem the day with mom. The excitement of the time alone with mom, without her two siblings, was so valuable that she struggled to let it go.”

This holiday season, we encourage you to think about gifts that don’t have a price tag associated with them. Often, we put these types of gifts in air quotes or discount their value but these are the gifts that tend to leave a positive, lasting impression on the children in our lives.

• Uninterrupted one-on-one time with a special adult. It doesn’t have to be a parent. It can be an aunt, an older cousin, or a good friend—anyone who the child enjoys being with.
• A walk in nature
• Making cookies together where the child picks the type of cookie
• Making dinner together where the child picks the meal
• Family game night where the child picks the game
• Family movie night where the child picks the movie
• Building a fort together
• Doing an art project together that the child chooses
• Reading books together that the child chooses and allowing the child to read to you if they’re old enough
• Looking at photos from your childhood together. Kids are often fascinated by what it was like when the grown ups in their lives were kids–a.k.a. the olden days.

We also encourage you to reflect on moments from the holiday season you remember most fondly from your childhood. It is rarely the gifts that someone gave you, but the time or moments you spent with family and friends that come to mind. This holiday season, we encourage you to give gifts that do not have a monetary value but have much more meaning.

Originally published at https://substack.com/@childrensartsguild on December 16, 2025.