Teaching Children about Giving on Christmas Day

Christmas morning is such an exciting time for children of all ages. The gifts have been bought or made, they are wrapped in beautiful paper and bows (often during the wee hours of Christmas morning), and the waiting is finally over!

Children, parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles all hurry to enjoy this special time of gift exchanging.

Ever since our first child was four or five, we have emphasized the spirit of giving on Christmas Day. By the time they are this age, they have been able to make a special present for Mom or Dad, or even had some spending money they had earned in preparation for this day.

Something we have found that has helped to teach our children about giving on Christmas Day, rather than getting, was to have them give the gifts they had made or purchased. Here’s how we do this at our house:

Once we are all gathered by the tree, we sit in a circle of some sort–whether it be in a chair, on the couch, or on the floor. This is simply to help everyone be able to see each other as we enjoy this time of sharing.

Then we start at some point in the circle, have that person give a present to someone on their gift list. After the recipient receives their gift, we all enjoy watching them open their treasure. As the gift is being opened, we often hear of a story or occurrence that happened to cause this particular gift to be given to the recipient. This is usually my favorite part of our family time together as I enjoy hearing from the gift-giver’s heart.

Now it’s time for the next present. The person who just opened a gift then finds a gift they got for someone else. (Later on this will usually be someone who hasn’t opened a gift yet, or hasn’t opened one for a long time.) The gift is given, the story is shared, and then the person who just opened a gift, finds a gift they bought or made for someone else.

After awhile, the children will run out of gifts to give, so it is up to Mom and Dad to finish giving away any remaining gifts. And on and on it goes–for several hours actually. Hours, you say? Yes, hours. We’ve grown in size over the years as most families have. With five children, five grandchildren, spouses, and a grandmother, it takes us a while to have fun!

You see, I’ve been involved in many family gatherings where the presents are passed out, a signal is given, and everybody rips into the wrapping paper. This has always been frustrating to me–partly because it’s hard for me to take in everything everyone got, plus I believe it puts the emphasis on “what did I get” rather than “what did I give.”

Feel free to disagree with me on this one; however, after waiting 365 days for this moment, what’s the big hurry anyway?

Now, you ought to see us all tear into our stockings! That’s a whole ‘nother matter indeed!

This is definitely something I’ve passed on to my kids. I think it’s really important. Even if the gift-giver isn’t giving a gift that is actually from them, the simple act of placing a gift in someone else’s hands shifts the focus to where it needs to be.

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