I’m writing this from Arbroath in Scotland. Cassie, Charlotte, Sophie and I are up here for Christmas this year visiting Cassie’s mum, dad, sister, brother in law, niece and nephew. Christmas is and should be about spending and enjoying time with family…but it’s more than that. It’s about making sure we make the most of it for our Children.

I don’t know about you, but my most memorable Christmases have either been when I was a child or over the last 9 years when Charlotte (and now Sophie) have been in our lives. My post childhood and pre fatherhood Christmases are all a bit of a blur.

Since Charlotte was born and now with Sophie being in our lives Christmas has been about something special. However it’s never been about the amount of money we spend on their presents….it’s been about the time we spend together, and with friends and family. This for me is what’s special about Christmas. It allows us to spend quality time with the people we love.

Christmas is also a notoriously expensive time of year. As a family containing two daughters with birthdays in late November and early December it’s even more so! However I’m increasingly coming to understand that our children want more than a few more presents under the tree. They want something more important, special and valuable than the latest gadget or toy. They want our time.

I’ve just spend half an hour playing a board game with my girls. Without wanting to sound like an advert for MasterCard the cost of the board game was about twelve pounds whereas the value of the time spent enjoying each others company was priceless!

So, as we approach this Christmas I’d humbly suggest that we worry less about spending loads of money over the festive season and invest something more important, more valuable and ultimately more valued by our children….our time!

As ever I’m interested in knowing your thoughts. What’s important to you over the festive season? What’s you memories as a child? and as a mum or dad? Do you agree that the investment of time over Christmas is the most important factor….or do you think that our children value the money spent on their gifts?