Gathering with our loved ones during any holiday season is bound to be filled with great food, faces we may not have seen in awhile, and nostalgia for celebrations and people in our pasts.
While you may not remember exactly what present you opened under the tree several Christmases ago, you will likely remember how you felt about it. Good memories aren’t just a great thing to reflect on years later. Research shows that positive memories from childhood are connected to good health in young adults.
In fact, people with this catalogue of good memories and positive relationships with their parents can see health benefits years later in the form of less depression and fewer chronic health issues. Another study also found that positive memories can decrease cortisol levels (the primary stress hormone) and improve moods.
Creating positive memories for children and adults alike requires setting aside time to spend together, free of distractions. You can plan something fun or find spontaneous activities to do together. Money can’t buy you better memories, but your time together can. Here are a few ways to do it.
Today, it may feel harder than ever to turn off all devices pulling us away from spending time with our families and loved ones during the holidays. While we may think we are good at multitasking by responding to texts while engaging in a verbal conversation with our relatives sitting at the table with us, our brains aren’t actually good at this mental juggling.
Give yourself, the people you’re with, and the people you're texting, the one on one attention you all deserve. Being focused on a conversation may surprise you, as you might observe things you couldn’t have while distracted and learn things from your family you hadn’t known before.
A great way to bond with people familiar and new is to participate in a shared activity together, especially one that’s new to you all.
This doesn’t have to be an expensive activity (see a list from The Spruce of games for kids that won’t cost you anything). It could be something like charades or trivia. Or if you have a smaller crowd, it could be finding a new recipe to try together.
Remember, it doesn’t matter if your recipe or game or new activity was “successful.” The real joy is in spending time together and giving your attention to your family.
Sometimes it’s hard to come up with new things to talk about when you spend so much time with the same family or friend group holiday after holiday. That’s why it can be helpful to prepare a few questions ahead of time to spark new topics of conversation and learn new things. Stumped for ideas? Parade has 250 conversation starters to peruse!
These new interactions can lead to discovering a shared hobby, or a shared desire to travel somewhere together, all leading to a host of more great memories for years to come.
Questions about health insurance? Contact a Sea Mountain Personal Insurance Specialist today!
