December 3rd, 2009 Tradition with a lesson….
“I’m glad he took our presents. You can’t hurt Christmas, Mr. Mayor, beacuse it isn’t about the… the gifts or the contest or the fancy lights. That’s what Cindy’s been trying to tell everyone… and me. I don’t need anything more for Christmas than this right here: my family.” ~ Lou Lou Who How the Grinch Stole Christmas
I’m a fan of the Grinch, but I am a bigger fan of Cindy Lou Who. Cindy my dear child, with your Fabulous Hair Do, you are wise beyond your years. A few years ago my sister Debbie let her wisdom shine also. She suggested we stop buying gifts for each one of our nieces & nephews, rather have the children make gifts for their cousins. ’Great!’ I thought, ‘Like I don’t have enough to do!’. Of course I smiled and said ‘That is a wonderful idea’……………I wondered, how the heck was I going to get through making 14 additional gifts!?
I sat my kids down and told them what Auntie Debbie suggested, fully expecting it to go over like a lead balloon. Instead it was received with excitement and great enthusiasm! They started listing ideas and asking when we were heading out to the store for supplies!
So what do kids give kids for gifts? Obviously the gifts were age appropriate, but here are some of the really successful gifts they have exchanged over the last few years!
- Marshmallow shooters!, the boys were busy all afternoon on Christmas!
- Personalized Library book bags
- Personalized Piggy banks
- Popcorn balls, perfect gift for a three year old to make!
- Personalized T-shirts, this one my daughter did kinda as a joke they each said ‘my cousin made me this silly shirt so I HAVE to wear it’ It was a huge hit!
- Mini Catapult, this was another huge hit keeping the boys occupied for hours!
It was a huge success! I will admit, I was a little worried if the kids would be disappointed. My children are considerable older than their cousins, I wondered how they would receive a homemade gift from a 2 year old? Wow, they were great. My daughter sat on the floor with her little cousin Lily, pouring over the book she made her, asking for her to explain the ‘pictures’ all while munching on the popcorn balls her bother had made. My son was more excited about giving than receiving he sat on the edge of his seat as his cousin opened the mini catapult. When Andrew opened it and yelled ‘COOL!’ the look on Joey’s face was priceless! My kids were really experiencing Christmas.
Credit should be given where credit is do. Debbie has created a tradition that is teaching our kids priceless lessons and the true meaning of the holidays. I am the oldest of four girls, do you know how tough that previous statement was to type?! I like to be the one coming up with all the great ideas! Don’t worry I got to recycle the idea with my husbands family the following year, and yes it is a continued success.
The kids are making their shopping lists this week. The building, painting, drawing, sewing frenzy will begin Saturday…….. I love watching them. It’s times like these I am so proud of my kids! I’m equally as proud of my sister, she has taught all of us a precious holiday lesson. Thanks Debbie………Love you!
Tags: Holiday ideas
