Over the Thanksgiving holiday, my extended family sat together and watched four hours of home videos, the majority of which I was somewhere between the ages of 3 and 8 years old. I remembered the toy washing machine I got from my grandparents during my fourth Christmas, the nauseating amount of homemade trail mix I ate on my 6th birthday and the family dance party that ensued when my aunt received a mega DJ keyboard for Christmas in 1998.
The tastes, the sounds, the smells, the feelings of the years gone by were so vivid to me while I was watching those videos. All I could think about was how I hoped for my children to remember their childhood with as much fondness and rich detail as I did.
But what makes a memory? A memory forms in a person’s brain when an event, moment or occurrence meets three important criteria: 1) it engages their senses, 2) it makes them feel deeply loved, cherished or understood, 3) it creates a mindset shift or changes their perception on something.
Knowing what it takes to form a memory, here are three ways you can make Christmas more memorable for your family this year.
1. Require everyone who enters your home to leave their phone by the front door. To be fully engaged and present during your time together with family, you must limit distractions. One way to do this is to have a basket or bin waiting and ready for everyone to store their electronic devices for the evening. No one can grab their devices until they leave to go home.