Over the last year, my family has begun purging our excess stuff.

Not because we need to make room for more stuff, but because we realized that there are more important things than the collection of items that essentially take up space without being enjoyed.

Don’t get me wrong, it has been a continuous struggle with the kids between them wanting to get rid of things they no longer need and then, in the next breath, asking for something new and shiny that they saw on TV or the internet.

But we’re slowly trying to bring it home to them that they don’t need items to make them happy.

One example was from this Christmas.

Before Christmas I was whining that I just need a break, away from everyday life, but this pandemic has forced us to reconsider our annual mini-vacations at this time.

Specifically, and unconsciously, I told my husband that I just wished I could be in a cabin in the middle of nowhere, curled up by a fire and reading a book.

I never thought it would happen, but he listened to my desire and ran with it without my knowledge.

Fast forward to Christmas Day and as we sat around the tree, watching the kids open their presents from Santa, Bob and I smiled at the joy in their eyes and the excited squeals over new Legos and lip gloss and some other essentials.

But it wasn’t until after the kids were finished that I realized that my husband had been listening to what I didn’t even know I wanted for Christmas.

As we exchanged gifts, he handed me a 4-by-6-inch flat wrapped gift. I opened it and found a postcard with a picture of a cabin in the woods with the words, “The Miller Family Weekend Retreat.”

I looked at it and looked at him as he smiled and urged me to continue reading.

After I realized that this gift was an experience, rather than something more to bring into the home, I was thrilled.

A few weeks later, we packed our bags and headed to New York.

I must say, besides our daughter being born the day after Christmas in 2017, this was one of the absolute best gifts I have ever received.

For those three glorious days, we went off grid, played in the snow, taught the kids Jenga and Uno, visited the site of the 1969 Woodstock concert and just enjoyed time as a family. No people other than us. No looking around at all the things I should be doing instead of enjoying spending time with those I love.

It was the most relaxing getaway I think I had in a long time and the reason for that was because we simplified our time.

We slowed down.

We enjoyed each other instead of being caught in the mindless loop of YouTube, television, video games and surfing the web.

We laughed.

We explored.

We sat by the crackling fireplace with books and games.

And most importantly, we made memories that will long outlast every other gift we got for Christmas.