To add variety to the holidays, take the opportunity to take the family outside and visit local parks

The holidays are a time when families and people gather to exchange gifts, sit down together for a meal and just take time to be together.

But after all the presents are opened, the meals are consumed and everyone is caught up with everybody else, one of the best things you can do with family and friends is get outside!

Go for a walk together. Visit a park. Toss a football or kick a soccer ball. Ride your new bikes.

Mother Nature gives us the best gift of all - the great outdoors. Blue skies and green grass all wrapped up in a giant package of fresh air.

Sure, we know, it's the Age of Technology. But you can bring your new tablets, iPhones, and hand-held game consoles with you. Sit on a park bench or a picnic table and play, take photos or create videos.

The main thing is to just get out of the house. It breaks up the day, it gives people some elbow room and it lets children burn off all that energy.

That's what we love about our jobs. We supply site furnishings and work with people and companies who work outdoors and continue to improve and promote open spaces for use by the public. So get out there and enjoy the fruits of their labor.

From the staff at The Park and Facilities Catalog, we wish everybody a Merry and Happy Holiday Season.