Wrapping My Heart around Christmas
>> Wednesday, December 14, 2011 –
A Different Advent,
family,
fun stuff with kids,
giving,
gratitude,
serving
Over the years my family has carved out a number of holiday traditions, from baking mini pumpkin chocolate-chip loaves for the kids’ teachers to belting Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer ad nauseum. By far, though, my favorite tradition is wrapping gifts for City Impact.
Each year in December, City Impact organizes what’s called the Gifts of Love Store in the basement of First Baptist Church in downtown Lincoln. They collect hundreds of donated items, dramatically mark down the retail price, and then open the store to allow low-income families to shop for the holidays. My husband, two boys and I volunteer one night every December to help the kids wrap the gifts they’ve chosen for their parents, grandparents and siblings.
We roll up our sleeves, lay out scissors, paper, ribbon, bows, gift bags and tags at each wrapping station, and not long after, they start to come.
...I'm delighted to be writing about one of my family's holiday traditions over at Chelsey's place, as part of her 25 Days of Christmas Traditions series. Will you click over to read about our wrapping adventure?And while you're here, tell me: what's your favorite holiday tradition? [oh, and be sure to come back here Friday for a giveaway!]
Posts
Too many to choose just one. Handprint ornaments, reading Luke 2 on Christmas Eve, Jesse tree, gingerbread houses, cookie baking/giving. See what I mean?
I love this Michelle!! Traditions...let's talk about something else.
I don't know that I have a favorite, but I've been thinking a lot lately about those things we used to do when I was a kid, things we don't do anymore, some I miss and some I don't. My dad used to pack us all in the car on Christmas night and we would go caroling to the elderly and widowed in our church. Mom would take along a gift of bread and jam for each and us kids always fought over who got to be the one to give the gift.
The warm fuzzies abound with this ...
I have so many memories from my childhood Christmas where the pace just seemed slower. Now it all seems so frantic, hurried, get this, get that, do this, do that, pick him up, drop him off --- meet this --- I'm ready for the pace of being a kid. :)
As always, great post.
I love just hanging out on Christmas Eve with my family...eating, reading, singing...it's so peaceful and fun. Also, it took my awhile, but I finally made the connection that you're in Lincoln. We lived in Lincoln a few years ago. My husband was on staff at New Covenant Community Church. We love your city (and Huskers!)
I guess my tradition is simple, but it's filled with love. Cooking and baking my family's favorite baked goods and scrumptious dishes.
We have begun a new tradition this year. We are gradually decorating a Chrismon tree, by making one symbol per day, reading about its meaning, and then adding it to the tree.