The joy and magic of gift-giving, especially around the holidays, can be one of the most looked forward to, nostalgic times with our loved ones. If the gift-giving seems to go by too quickly and you want to savor the moments even more, why not try one or more of these ideas to spread out the gift-giving over the holiday season and make even more special memories!
Celebrate the Dutch holiday Sinterklaas
Sinterklaas, or Saint Nicholas Day holds various Dutch traditions such as having children put out their shoes on the evening of December 5th and during the night Saint Nicholas fills them with toys and candy. Read all about the different ways to incorporate Sinterklaas into your gift-giving tradition!
Start a Christmas Eve gift-giving tradition
- Some people have the tradition of opening one or more gifts on Christmas Eve. This can be something to be used the following day, a gift that you want to stand apart from the others, or just something silly that adds to the fun of building up excitement for Christmas. Some specific ideas are:
- Holiday Pajamas to be worn that night
- A present that you actually set out around the tree to be played with in the evening leading up to bedtime
- A special tradition of siblings giving a gift to each other
- A special gift from a parent or grandparent
- A book to be read on Christmas Eve
- A Christmas Eve "box" with fun things to do as a family the night before Christmas
Spread out your gifts over the "12 days of Christmas"
Ever heard the song the twelve days of Christmas? Some people celebrate the 12 days of Christmas (The first day being on Christmas Day) and spread gifts out over twelve days instead of giving them all on one day. This is a great way to keep the joy going and spread out the joy of gift-giving over a longer period of time. This is especially great for families to do with kids as many times there are so many presents from extended family on Christmas day that spreading gifts from parents out over a longer period allows the children to really enjoy and appreciate them in a different way.
Give small gifts as a countdown leading up to Christmas
Some people have a tradition of wrapping small gifts and having children open one gift each day of December leading up to Christmas day. Some simple but effective themes for countdown gifts are:
- small treats
- notes
- books (a mixture of holiday books you already own and new ones to share together)
- ornaments to hang each day on the tree
Adopt a gift-giving tradition from around the world
Feeling particularly creative or bored of the same old way of giving gifts? Why not read up on some of the very unique ways that people from all over the world give gifts during the holidays? Some of them are pretty wild and would definitely spice up your holiday season in a big way!
