Over the past year, my wife, Suzy, and I have been making an effort to purge our lives, along with the lives of our 8.5 year old son and 6.5 year old daughter, of excess material objects and to minimize clutter -- physically, mentally, and emotionally. We're focusing on experiences instead of possessions.
We carried this philosophy into our recent Christmas celebration. Rather than 'spoil' Orion and GG with huge piles of gifts -- of which most will quickly find a permanent home buried at the bottom of a toy box in our playroom -- I made them this 'Ultimate Survivor Reward Challenge'. We're huge Survivor fans!
In addition to emphasizing the value of experiences, we're trying to teach them to accept challenges and to explore; both the world and their minds.
I'm an experienced finish woodworker and a one-off sculptural furniture maker with multiple pieces that have received international recognition and it still took me seven working days, an all-nighter on the 23rd, and one additional hour on Christmas Eve, after the kids fell asleep, to complete this multi-step puzzle crate.
The Ultimate Christmas Survivors
