Christmas Coupon Book

The greatest gift you can give someone is your time. More and more I realize the truth of these simple but powerful words – as a parent, as a spouse, as a friend. This Christmas I was pondering what to fill my kid’s stockings with that wasn’t more junk to fill our shelves and drawers (or for me to trip over when they don’t put it away *insert eye roll emoji here*), a friend suggested the idea of a coupon book. I LOVED it. At first it started out as something I was going to give to my kids. Coupons/passes like:

One day off of chores
Stay up an extra _____ min past bedtime (non-school nights only!)
Invite a friend over for a playdate
Playing one game of your choice
Reading ___ number of books
Breakfast in bed
Making one dessert of your choice
You pick the movie for family movie night
One craft project of your choice
One dinner of your choice
1 hour with mom/dad doing an activity of your choice (free or a set amount of $$)
One day pass to stay in your pajamas
30 extra minutes screen time

Then I realized it was also the PERFECT solution to what should my boys give each other! I have been stumped by this question for years, as I want them to be in the habit of giving to each other but don’t want them buying more stuff. So, each of them will draw a brother’s name, secret Santa style (just so it’s not overwhelming to give to all 4 brothers!), and create a coupon book of 6 coupons to give to each other. Coupons good for things like: