Do you remember what you got for 
Christmas when you were 7 or 12 ?
I don’t. I am sure there were presents, but I forgot what they were long ago.
I do remember outings, time spent together, concerts (not even the music, but the fact that Dad took me). I remember train rides, fishing trips and most of all, the soccer games.
I shall never forget how he made me feel: special, wanted, loved, safe, accepted.
He didn’t have to take me, there were full-time nannies. He wanted me with him.
We didn’t talk much. He watched the game: I watched him. My Dad, the big man with the rough hands. Mother made him wear gloves, “Doctors shouldn’t have rough hands”. He didn’t care. “It’s what you do with them,” he said. And, he saved lives with his.
This Christmas you might consider the gift of your time spent with your kids, and they may still tap strength from it fifty years hence.
Technically you can look at it this way:
Going somewhere acts like a locational. He’s looking around. It’s extroverting. It’s a change of environment. One of the Valid Therapies. It’s a tone raiser.
Going together leads to two-way comm, exchange of ideas, increased reality on each other, formulating thoughts. It raises ARC.
Being invited to come along communicates acceptance. “I want you in my life”.
Don’t make the event the gift; make the togetherness the gift.
A trip to Universal Studios is a gift of flights, meals and money.
Backpacking up a nearby hill together and telling him, by the light of the campfire, the lore of his great-grandpa, Andrew (who was a bit of a rogue) is giving him importance. Bring the pictures of great-grandpa, Andrew, and privately share his unsavory history. Your son is being inducted into the family. This is epic. He’ll never forget it.
It will cost you a bucket of KFC, a day out of your life, and you will be his hero.
Every family has some colorful ancestors; their stories bind us together.
Togetherness is what this season is all about. Kids love to belong.
Make it a tradition to tell family stories over Christmas.
In big family get-togethers of your youth, who still stands out to you? The ones who saw in you the hope for the future and spoke to you like you mattered.
You can be that unforgettable person.
Let me know how it goes, I love to hear wins.
Happy Holidays, Joke