Christmas is a great time to share our love and gratitude to the important people in our lives. Instead of making a present list for our children, we can create an opportunity for them to express love and gratitude themselves.

Family members, teachers, friends and anyone else who are important to them will make the list. We can chat about all the love and kindness we all have received from others this year. This will remind them of what they are thankful for about each person instead of focusing on the list of people and who’s missing. This way, our children will learn to recognize what they have been given, leading to gratitude, as well as one of the ways to return kindness.

This exercise will also help them write more meaningful cards. They can write to grandparents about warm hugs they always get. Remembering and thanking for what they have learned from the teachers would make them feel fulfilled. Cards for friends can include reminiscences about fun things they have done together and how special each friend is to them.

Giving children a chance to choose presents for themselves (with a budget) would also be a valuable experience. Instead of redirecting their ideas, try setting boundaries to help them contain their wild creativity during brainstorming. For example, we can select a store to pick presents from, so we feel at ease knowing anything they pick would be decent. You will be surprised how much children actually know about the people they want to gift, and they can come up with great gift ideas too! When the recipients give thanks for the presents, they will feel proud and warm, learning the joy of giving.

When my daughter was four, we helped her get presents for preschool teachers. She told us that the teachers always drank coffee and that she would want to give them new mugs. I told her to pick something at Winner’s, and she did! The whole experience was very fun and engaging, and it was priceless to see her face when the teachers liked the mugs and thanked her for them. 

Gifting can be a fun Christmas activity as a family. Making a list of people we love, remembering what they have done for us, and brainstorming what to write and give are true sprits of Christmas. While doing so, our children have heartwarming time thinking about special people in their lives and what they are blessed with — one way to truly feel grateful.