Advent 2011: Wrap it up!

Tonight is a night Christmas fun!  It is the night that we wrap gifts and prepare packages to mail, deliver, or place under the tree.  If you are like us, we have family in other parts of the country and that means there is not much Christmas shopping left until Christmas Eve any more.  So, today is our last chance to prepare and ship gifts to those who are not near.  It is also the day that we assess what shopping or crafting is left to be done.

So, let's wrap things up with a little Christmas cheer as we make our final gift preparations for the season.

Christmas Advent 2011:  Place each person's name on a piece of paper and place it in the bag for advent.  Before opening this evening's bag,  we will begin the evening with a race.  Place a few gifts (or empty boxes) in the middle of the floor along with wrapping paper, tape, ribbon and scissors.  You are now set up for a wrapping contest.  Take turns by team for individuals to see who can wrap their gifts the fastest.  A few ground rules, the gift must be properly wrapped; no parts of the box showing.  The gift or box may not be damaged in the process.  When finished, the gift must be in a condition worthy of gifting.  And... GO!

After the race, this is a good opportunity to check your gift list as a family, make any remaining crafts for gifting this week, or address packages for mailing tomorrow.  We also like to use this time to open cards and gifts that have been sent to us.  Throughout the holiday, we receive gifts that are meant to be opened before Christmas and cards that are fun to place on the mantel.  However, it is nice to do this as a family...something which is not always possible in the daily hustle and bustle.  Today, we share the fun that has been collecting under our tree as we open all of the cards an gifts that have arrived by mail. 

We also have a long-standing tradition of drawing names in our family.  We draw names and make homemade gifts for each other.  This evening's advent bag has the names of your family members in it.  Each person should take a name from the bag... checking to be sure that no one has their own name.  Set some ground rules like how much money can be spent on time and materials or when you will exchange the gifts etc.  Then begin to your search for the perfect homemade gift.

For more information on this tradition, go to Christmas Adventus 2011.

For our other Advent activities, see "Christmas Adventus 2011: Celebrating Allergy-Free".