Lets train

Looking for a gift to please an entire family this Christmas?

Maybe your brother's family, or your favorite co-worker's family?

Or for your own family?

I'd like to share three amazing gift ideas for a family dear to your heart. These ideas come from UnCommonGoods, and they are uniquely special items. If you haven't heard of UnCommonGoods, take some time this holiday season to browse their selection of artisan crafted gifts.

If the family you are purchasing a gift for loves to play games together, check out this amazing board game that encourages random acts of kindness and spreads that goodness all over the world with Boom Boom Cards! The description at UnCommonGoods sums this game up perfectly, "The coolest thing about Boom Boom! cards is that you can create a chain reaction of covert kindness that could theoretically travel around the world." As you complete an act of kindness, you give the card away to a friend. Hopefully that friend also completes the challenge because the card has a tracking code, which allows you to read stories about every act of service that specific card inspires. Awesome, right? What a great way to teach a family about service and its positive impact in the lives of other people.

As "agents of altruism," Johnny and I have started our game board. Our first challenge is already underway, and I'm excited to then give our Boom Boom card to another family. My life has been positively impacted by small acts of service, and I'm excited to be a part of that goodness for someone else. Reading their stories on the online tracker will be humbling and inspiring. By ordering the Random Acts of Kindness kit as a Christmas gift, you're essentially saying, "Goodness to all, and to all a good night!"

If your you need a gift for a family that enjoys conversations together, consider the ReMemory game from Storymatic, available at UnCommonGoods. Rememory is a deck of cards designed to elicit memories from each player. There are three decks of cards, each with random word prompts. A player draws three cards and proceeds to tell a memory based on those words. Last weekend, my husband and I went camping with his brother's family. After the kids finally went to sleep in the tent, the adults played Rememory around the campfire. I enjoyed hearing about my sister-in-law's childhood in Alaska and her adventures as a flight attendant. I learned more about my husband's relationship with his grandparents. I talked about my summer jobs as a door-to-door salesman and travels in college. 

The game does allow for customized rules, such as guessing someone's memory. You can also use the cards alone in order to expand your journal writing. However you play the game, there is a sense of grounding that's both peaceful and fun at the same time. It's just a cool game! These cards would be the perfect family reunion game. They'd also be helpful when interviewing grandparents. Reminisce with Rememory.

As Thanksgiving inches closer, the word gratitude becomes a common part of everyone's vocabulary. Once a year it's the season of gratefulness, and our lives are enriched by focusing on the blessings we enjoy. But, what if something existed that made gratitude a part of our life all year long? What if that focus on gratitude came in a cute little box with cards and a gratitude journal? Such a gift does exist, and it's called "A Year of Gratitude." Imagine the bonding that would happen as the family decides who to send a card to each week.

The Year of Gratitude encourages a person (or family) to express thanks for the quiet moments of joy experienced every week. Those life enriching moments may come from a friend at school, a co-worker, a mailman, or a grocery store clerk. As you and your family begin to appreciate the positive impact left on your hearts, then "deep heartfelt gratitude seems the only appropriate reply." This gratitude activity kit includes 52 cards (one for each week of the year) and a journal where you can document your journey of "ever-increasing joy and wonder." The journal offers advice for writing genuine thank you notes, and allows you to document whom you've mailed cards to so you can choose new people every week. I have officially logged my first thank you card, and I'm excited to begin a weekly tradition of expressing thanks.

I am grateful that UnCommonGoods offers such unique Christmas gifts from talented artisans in a variety of categories. Plus, many of their products are handcrafted with an innovative dedication to eco-friendly design. For example, the Boom Boom card game is made with recycled materials! UnCommonGoods also spreads "good" around the world through charitable giving to organizations like American Forests and the International Rescue Committee. Ordering family Christmas gifts from UnCommonGoods ensures you are supporting artisans and spreading Christmas cheer to more people in need.