The Joy is in the Giving

Giving is the spirit of Christmas. Beautiful packages are heaped under the tree. Won’t the children be delighted and surprised when they see what Santa has brought them? Sure. But have you cheated your children out of the happiness they can have by giving gifts themselves? If all they do is "get" at Christmas, how do we teach our children the giving spirit? 

Older children with allowances or ways to earn some money may choose to buy small gifts. For the younger ones, however, it is up to us as parents and grandparents to help them make presents which, even if they aren’t perfect come with the effort and love in those little hands and hearts.

Once when I was in Brownie Scouts, I made a little pin holder for my mother. Years later, I happened to see her throwing it away when she was cleaning out. Even then I felt a pang of rejection, although it was old, ugly and really useless. I always keep this in mind when helping the children craft gifts. For young children, it is the process, not the project, which is the biggest part of making something. Therefore, we try hard to come up with craft ideas which are either functional (so they can be used, but not necessarily have to be displayed) or disposable (like food).


This year, our youngest decorated wooden coat hangers. Christian, age 4, Katharyn and Karolyn, age 3, had fun using permanent markers and paint pens to decorate wooden coat hangers. Grandma added the recipient’s name on the front and the names of the makers on the back, along with the date, with paint pen. A light coat of clear acrylic spray finishes the project which the recipient can keep for years.


Austin (age 12) made what he calls “Shoe De-Stinkafiers.” First we mixed up a bowl of sweet smelling spices. We broke cinnamon sticks, added whole cloves and star anise and small pieces of dried orange peel. Then we added a few drops of orange (or lemon) oil and stirred well. [Hint: spices in large quantity are much cheaper at an import or Indian grocery store than in the regular grocery.] Instead of the spices, we could have used cedar chips made for small animal bedding available at the pet store. We then took a pair of baby socks, added a large spoon full of our spice mix and stuffed them with pillow stuffing (or old panty hose). At the top of the foot, we tied the sock very tightly with thread, then rolled down the anklet part to form a little hat. Austin added the face with fabric paint. Each pair was put in a zipper sandwich bag before being wrapped to help keep the good odor fresh until Christmas. The sweet smelling little dolls were presented with a note for the recipient to give them a home inside a pair of spare shoes to keep out the “stink” and keep the shoes smelling sweet until they are worn.


Max (age 12), Victoria (age 11), and Brenden (age 7) made Germ Jinxers. First we mixed up a batch of lavender and citrus flavored “medicinal” herbs, according to the recipe below. Then we took an old, but clean, unmatched sock and cut off the foot part. Using the other part, we turned it inside out and sewed the bottom shut by machine. Turning the sock back the right way, we sprinkled in a couple of spoons full of our germ jinxing mix, added stuffing and sewed the top shut, again using a sewing machine. We used fabric paint, and glued on google eyes, yarn and found objects with a glue gun to decorate and add the features. Each Germ Jinxer is presented in a zip lock bag to retain the “medicinal” smell, along with instructions that when the recipient is feeling bad with a snuffy nose or headache caused from a cold to take out the Germ Jinxer and cuddle him. The aroma really does help clear up a stuffy head and helps to make the headache go away. 

Germ Jinxing Herb Recipe

-Three tablespoons lavender flowers
-One tablespoon eucalyptus leaf pieces (you can tear these off the eucalyptus stems in your flower arrangements; or substitute dried bay leaves)
-Five to ten small pieces of dried orange or lemon peel
-5 drops any citrus oil
-5 drops peppermint oil

Stir well. This will make enough for two Germ Jinxers.


Brenden spent the night and wanted to make some more presents, so we mixed up a batch of sweet smelling potpourri for the ladies and stuffed and decorated sachets. At the craft store in the section for weddings, we found small drawstring bags from Wilton made to hold candies or small favors. They would be easy to sew, too, if you have a machine and some scraps of thin fabric. After the fun of mixing the potpourri, we stuffed the little bags and added a small cloth rose for decoration. Again, we put them in closed sandwich bags until Christmas to preserve more of the smell.

Aunt Julie saved her rose petals all year for us to use in our crafting. Herbs have been a hobby of mine, so we had all he ingredients for potpourri on hand. Children love the mixing and measuring, drop by drop, in making sweet smelling potpourri, but the ingredients for this project are not cheap. They are available at herbalist shops and some health food and craft stores. Store owners are often happy to give you hints on making potpourri and there are many recipes available on the internet. 


For more Christmas ideas, be sure read Ann’s article “Don’t Cheat the Children” by clicking here. In this article, I suggested having a birthday party for Jesus, with cake, balloons and all the trimmings. We use a large image of the Christ Child in his crib and actually tie birthday balloons to the legs of the manger. Our image came from Mexico many years ago when my own children were young. If you don’t have a large image, there are options available.

Teri O'Toole of Soft Saints, Inc. offers a lovely, soft and cuddly Jesus doll in His own crib:

Click here for more information about this Baby Jesus doll:

https://com.azteca.net/softsaints/main/shop/item_27.htm

Anna Pallisco and Sandra Maola of Faith Filled Friends offer a huggable image of Jesus as a child which would also be as good choice for your Jesus’s Birthday celebration:

Click here for more information on the Child Jesus doll:

http://store.faithdolls.com/