Family members amble through the front door with more gifts, so the kids form a gift-opening assembly line that starts from youngest to oldest. Oh, the gifts, gifts, gifts, gifts! I can’t control what others give my kids, but I can control our understanding of material objects and values. Often, on these boisterous multigenerational family holiday celebrations, the conversation inevitably turns toward nostalgia. “Remember when even buying bones was a special treat for our family?” my mom says with eyes twinkling.

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