It’s that time of the year again, the holidays are upon us and parties, events and gatherings are happening every night of the week it seems. Meeting with friends, entertaining co-workers and of course, spending much needed time with family is in order. So how do you keep track of all these amazing events and seeing all these wonderful people? I know for my family and I it is important to figure out different ways to document these wonderful times together so we can have memories to last a lifetime.

To help me figure out some ways to best capture these memories, I turned to one of my favorite daily mentors, Darren Hardy, who put together a great list of half a dozen ways to make memories with your loved ones and I am going to share them with you:

·      Capture the memory – take a lot of visual photos with everyone at your gathering. Then upload them to a photo sharing website and send everyone a link to the album so everyone can share in the memories.

·      Sound of music – find out what everyone’s favorite Christmas song is and who sings it. Then, go online and download every song and put together a little family album that everyone can listen to.

·      Box O’wishes – have a small box placed at each persons spot at the dining table with everyone having an index card for everyone in attendance. Ask everyone to answer questions about the other people at the table and when they are finished put the answers in that persons box. This is a nice way to share good feelings and memories of each person there.

·      Box O’questions – each person comes up with questions they would like to know about everyone in attendance and then you can all sit down and read them to one another and get to know one another better.

·      Time versus trinkets – with your close friends and family, the best thing you can give them is your time. Give them a card filled with sentimental memories, a list of gifts they will receive throughout the next year or any other ways you can spend time with them.

·      Don’t’ just get together, give together – do something meaningful together for someone else. Ask each person coming to your get together to bring some non-perishable food or some gently used clothes or some blankets and take all of these things to a local shelter. Or give a financial contribution to your favorite charity or figure out a place you can all go volunteer for a day.

And during the holiday season, if you know anyone who doesn’t have family or friends to spend time with, invite them to join your festivities!

Have a great holiday everyone and safe travels to anyone traveling!