The Carol of the Coin (North Pole Delivery)

What's the best Christmas gift for someone you love?

Choosing a Christmas gift for someone you love is always difficult. You want it to say something heartfelt and meaningful, but you also want it to be fun. It's Christmas, after all!

We're parents, and Christmas is a prominent holiday in our homes. Like you, we want to pass our Christmas traditions to our children and grandchildren. We want to show our kids a different Christmas message: it is good to receive a gift, but it's good to give a gift, too -- maybe even better. The kind of Christmas gift you give may be most important of all.

Spin your Christmas coin to make a wish -- or be someone else's wish

"Make a Wish" and "Be a Wish" are the two sides of the Christmas Coin. Each day leading up to Christmas, spin the coin and follow its instructions. If it's "Make a Wish," think of a gift you'd like to receive. If it's "Be a Wish," do something kind for someone you love. Write a letter. Recite a poem. Do a chore. Find an unusual, personal gift that expresses your feelings for them. Make the gracious offering of your spirit to someone you love the best Christmas tradition of all.

Read The Carol of the Coin to see how your Christmas coin came to be

The Carol of the Coin is a beautifully illustrated children's Christmas story book. Many storybooks and traditions emphasize that children should behave, should not break the rules, to earn a gift. Get on the "nice list" so Santa will like you, we say, instead of emphasizing why it's good to be "nice" in the first place.

We at Antsy Labs want our own children to feel excited and special about our Christmas traditions, like showing appreciation for our families and giving back to our communities, without prompting them in exchange for something shiny under the Christmas tree.

Let us always be blessings to one another, especially at Christmas!