December 26, 2012

“Mine first! Mine first!” This is what I hear on Christmas morning. For those of you that are new followers, yes, we do Christmas. We are a blended religion family. Blending our religions with extended family means there are events we participate in that may not be Jewish. Personally, I just consider it a continuation of Chanukkah!

Now where was I? Oh yes; mine first! This is the sound my children make on Christmas morning. However, it is not the sound of whiney selfish children begging to open their gift first. It is the demand they are making upon me and each other. Open mine first!

I will give kudos to the holiday of Christmas for helping give my children the occasion to practice to the love of gift giving. Yes, every day offers the chance to give to someone selflessly and yes they love to receive a gift. But they love the holiday the most for the hunt and delivery of the perfect gift for their loved ones.

They aim to find that special something they know will bring simple joy. So don’t tell them “just make a donation” or “a gift certificate is fine”, because it won’t do! That actually takes away our gift giving fun!

Unquestionably, the gift itself is not where the fun stops. How you wrap a gift is just as, if not more important than the gift enclosed! It requires tissue, maybe a box, color coordinated paper, something that sparkles, maybe a snowflake on top, and more sparkle. Plus, no package ever holds what it looks like it may! A shirt is never in a shirt box. They don’t just “love” the element of surprise they live for it.

So, thank you Christmas. Thank you for the occasion to surprise loved ones and friends with wrapped and sparkly packages filled with thought, compassion and love. Thank you for the opportunity to hear my children proclaim “Mine first!” Only 364 more days to plan next year’s perfect surprises!