Guest post written by Rachel Garlinghouse.
Gift wrapping is one of those activities that just gets tacked on at the end of all the little jobs we have to do in preparation for the holidays. Often times it is hurriedly done without a lot of thought. Usually I plow through gift wrapping marathons, occasionally letting my toddler hold the tape dispenser or plop a bow on top of a package. This year, I realized that treating Christmas like a task to be completed rather than a special time of year full of teachable moments and joy was doing a disservice to my children. Christmas is an opportunity to embrace peace, create memories, and reflect on blessings. Jesus’ birth is far too incredible and important to one’s understanding of God’s greatness to be rushed through.
I have purposed to make this year unique when it comes to gift wrapping. I want to make it more mindful, joyous, and reflective of the God we serve. How will we do it?
Set the stage.
Turn on Christmas music, grab some snacks (milk and Christmas cookies, anyone?), and place wrapping supplies near the Christmas tree, the fireplace, or at the kitchen table—wherever you feel festive. Avoid distractions like the television, cell phones, and the computer by shutting them off or setting them aside.
Share and pray.
As a family, take turns praying for the gift’s receiver and sharing a memory about the person. For little ones, a simple, “This tea pot is for Grandma. Grandma collects tea pots. Remember when Grandma played tea party with you?” For older children, allow them to share a special moment they had with the receiver. Prayers can be as simple or as elaborate as your children’s understanding and attention span allows.
Get creative.
Wrapping gifts in brown packaging paper gives your kids a blank slate to get creative (plus the paper is heavy duty—hopefully avoiding tears). Give children age-appropriate crafting materials (stickers, glue, ribbon, buttons, stamps, markers, etc.) and encourage them to decorate packages. Older children can cut out pictures from magazines and create a collage on the package. Gift tags can be a photo of the receiver glued onto cardstock and tied with a ribbon (which helps little children identify gifts when distributing) or a homemade card with a handwritten message from an older child.
Read and discuss the Christmas story.
Read to children (or have an older child read) as they decorate gifts, and remind them that the Wise Men brought gifts to Jesus in celebration of His birth. Talk about how giving can be a joyful experience for the giver and the receiver. Christmas is also a great opportunity to memorize a Bible verse pertaining to giving, joy, or peace. Choose a verse and commit to reciting it as a family a few times a day.
Quality, not quantity.
Allow the family to set the pace of the gift-wrapping session. When little ones begin to get agitated and distracted, put away the supplies and gift wrap more presents another day. A great way to create short and meaningful wrapping sessions is to spread them throughout the month of December by incorporating them into your custom Advent calendar.
“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” ~James 1:17
What creative ideas do you have to make gift wrapping more meaningful?
Rachel Garlinghouse is a Christian, wife, mother of two, freelance writer, and college writing teacher. She blogs about adoptive family life (and so much more!) at White Sugar, Brown Sugar.
Really great idea! This will be awesome for my three boys!
They make gift bags for people like me – but I do LOVE the brown wrapping paper. Even I can do that.
I have very fond memories of wrapping sessions with my mom and sister when I was little. I hope to pass that on to my children.
Several years ago, my husband and I started wrapping our two sons’ gifts in brown paper and writing a Christmas letter to them on the paper. We include things that we’ve been praying for them, important things from that year, and expressions of our love. I take a picture of the letter the night before opening so that it is documented. The next morning, I read their letter to them (they’re preschool age) before they open it. We only buy them one gift each, and this tradition makes it so much more meaningful and memorable (I hope!).
I used to just plow through wrapping, too. But this year we’ve cut way back on the amount gifts everyone is getting (just trying to simplify!) and I decided that I’d take my time and make all the packages pretty (plus if I put ribbon on them, it will take longer to unwrap). I usually wrap everything weeks before Christmas, but this year I’m planning to wait to wrap all the kid stuff after they’ve gone to bed on Christmas Eve with my hubby over hot cocoa and cookies. I’d like it to become “our” thing to do on Christmas Eve.
Thanks so much for sharing these ideas! I’ll be gift-wrapping this weekend with my 3-year old’s “help”, and love the idea of talking about the person the gift is for and praying for them together. We’re wrapping some of our gifts in brown paper bags, and he’s enjoyed coloring them.
It also gives an opportunity to write verses or draw pictures related to Jesus’ birth!
Great ideas, Rachel! Popped over and visited your site… I love your heart for adoption, too. So glad to have “met” you! xoxo