5 gifts that give your family quality time all year

Friends and Family make the holiday season special!

Whether your family is large or small, here are some gift ideas that last longer than the holiday season and give everyone something to look forward to:

1. Plan a Vacation: Escape to someplace tropical for the winter, go to a theme park, visit relatives in another state, go skiing up north, check out an indoor waterpark hotel, rent a houseboat, go camping, or plan a staycation where you visit local sites as a tourist. Regardless of what you do, commit to disconnecting from work, school, activities, and other obligations to focus on having fun and making memories as a family.
   
2. Annual Membership: Memberships to zoos, museums, recreation centers, aquariums, planetariums, science centers, amusement parks, etc. give you family fun year-round! Most memberships come with free daily entry along with other perks like special events for the holidays.
3. Season Tickets: Does your family root for a favorite sports team? Do you love live theatre events? Season tickets are a great way to guarantee family time or date nights! Each date is known well in-advance, and to make the events even more fun, you can plan picnics, tailgating, or dinner at new restaurants.
4. Monthly Subscription Boxes: These days, there are monthly subscription boxes for any interest! You can choose hands-on activities to do together like crafting, science experiments, cooking, baking, board games, gardening, or shared interests like reading, sports, toys, clothing, puzzles, makeup, and more. Everyone will be excited to unbox together each month and to try out all of the new offerings!
5. Start a New Tradition: Some of your children’s best memories will cost nothing at all. Start a new tradition that includes the whole family. Make one-day-a-week traditions like technology free day, movie night, baking day, kids’ cooking day, fort-building night, picnic dinner (either on the floor or outdoors), dance party, going for a family walk/bike ride, or game night. Or, maybe a monthly tradition of doing community service at soup kitchen, cleaning up a park, gathering clothing and toys for donation, helping an elderly neighbor, or visiting and reading at a nursing home.