12 Days of Christmas Giveaways (2017) – Day 5

*Give Away has Ended*

GRAND PRIZE!!!

One of you WHO COMMENTS ON ALL TWELVE POSTS AND ALSO SHARES ABOUT THE SERIES ON SOCIAL MEDIA will win a grand prize from me, pictured here.

REMEMBER…in order to win the grand prize, you must leave a comment on all 12 posts. You can start with Day One HERE.

OK, let’s get started with our fifth day’s guest, Alex Kuykendall!

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Giving the Gift of Time

It was the end of the Christmas Tea. A room filled with beautiful women in fancy clothes sitting in front of china place settings on their decorated tables. I’d just talked to the group about unmet expectations and grief during the holidays when one of them approached me and said, “I’m changing my Christmas wish list. This year all I want is for each of my boys to take me out to lunch in January. Alone.” I could tell she was holding back the tears. “I miss my boys.” I could feel my tears of empathy well because I know what it is to want someone’s attention.

In a world where we are increasingly isolated and ever busy we can forget to slow down enough to notice the ones closest to us. A great way to ensure some time together after the hustle, bustle of the Christmas season is to give a set aside activity as a gift. This tells the recipient time with them matters. It can be a great budget friendly gift too because though time is costly, we do not have to spend money to offer it.

Whether the people on our list are our preschool aged children, our parents, neighbors, or friends, we can offer them intentional, quality time as our Christmas offering. Giving time as a gift, minimizes stuff accumulation, and increases memories. Gift ideas include:

• Tickets to a sporting or cultural event
• A restaurant gift certificate to be used together
• A vacation sometime in 2018
• A coupon for a back rub on demand
• A class to take together
• A standing weekly date to walk through the neighborhood
• A membership to a local museum or zoo
• Movie tickets or Netflix membership for the homebound recipient with the promise of Friday night movie nights

No matter your budget, or the person on your Christmas list, you can choose just the right gift of time to give. As Karen says in her book, Listen, Love, Repeat, “Most anything we want to find is easily available with the click of a mouse or a touch of the screen. But I have noticed through the years that of all the presents my kids might receive, the ones that matter the most are those that cost time.” (Pg. 64) When we give the gift of time we are telling the recipient they are worth this prized resource. Our presence is priceless and they are worth that price.

Day Five Giveaway

For the 12 Days of Christmas series, I am giving away A copy of my book, Loving My Actual Christmas: An Experiment in Relishing The Season and a Loving My Actual Life racer tank (size XS).

You can read more about Alexandra Kuykendall’s experiment to put an end to the holiday madness in her new book Loving My Actual Christmas: An Experiment in Relishing the Season. A trusted voice in mothering circles, Alex speaks to women around the world about issues of parenting, faith and identity. She is the Cohost of The Open Door Sisterhood Podcast and has also authored Loving My Actual Life and The Artist’s Daughter. Alex lives in the shadows of downtown Denver with her husband Derek and their 4 daughters who range in age from 15 to 6. You can connect with her at AlexandraKuykendall.com.

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12 Days of Christmas Giveaways Rules

1. You can comment on all 12 days (once per person) up until midnight Pacific time, Sunday, December 17. All posts are linked on Day One here.
2. U.S. Addresses only please.
3. One daily winner will be chosen from each day’s comments and all winners (including Grand Prize) will be announced on Wednesday, December 20.
4. Share the giveaway with your friends and followers using the share buttons below.
5. If you’re not already subscribed, click here and receive an email notification each day of our series.