I’ll admit that when it comes to giving Christmas gifts to my children and grandchildren, something inside compels me to find the “perfect” gift. I know that the gift doesn’t exist and intellectually I understand that it doesn’t represent my love for them, but still – the voice is there whispering ‘make their Christmas really special this year.’ I’m a mom and I want to make my kids happy. And you do the same.

Fortunately for me, I’ve had scores of Christmases with my children and now that they are grown, they can tell me what gifts meant the most to them and which they’ve forgotten. If you are a mother like I am, listen to their wisdom. Here are the “gifts” they felt had a positive, warm impact on them growing up.

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Great Gift #1: Giving Together

My kids weren’t alone in experiencing Christmas joy when they worked with my husband and me to buy, wrap and deliver gifts to strangers. They loved having our family work as a team and got excited trying to figure out what a boy or girl whom they had never met might delight in finding under their tree at Christmas. Best of all,…