During the holidays, it’s easy for family and loved ones to go over a little over the top when it comes to gifts for the kids. Although the thought behind it comes from a great place, it’s likely that, when it comes down to it, it’s just more pricey toys the little ones honestly don’t need. That’s why one really smart grandma came up with a new gift idea for her grandkids, and it’s turned into a priceless tradition that you’re going to want to copy.

For Christmas, Darlene Waller, who has four grandkids, gave her two oldest something unexpected. Instead of yet another toy or gadget to add to the clutter, the 11- and 9-year-old unwrapped a chest filled with envelopes and a special note.

The letter explained that this year, Nonna was giving them the gift of family time.

Each kid was given 12 different envelopes labeled one per month with a specific theme. Inside each is a planned out and paid date for them with grandma, parents, or with their aunt and uncle. “Some you choose, some I choose. But they are all fun as a family activity for us to do together,” she explained.

The boys had to wait until the start of each month to open an envelope and see what surprise they had in store.

“The older boys don’t need a thing. They have every toy and electronic made,” she tells CafeMom. “I’ve always enjoyed making memories and a lot of the stuff I put in the adventure box was activities we would have done this year anyway.”

From laser tag and baseball to bowling and movie tickets, grandma made certain that the following year was filled with exciting family time.

“The boys loved it and the parents loved it too because they didn’t need more toys. They live on a budget so it was nice for them to be able to take the boys to the movies or bowling when they opened that envelope,” she says. “I took pictures every time we did one of the adventures, and I’m making a scrapbook for them to give to them this year.”