Present with the presents

Every year in the lead up to Christmas there comes a moment when I need to get all the kids presents and stocking fillers out of their various hiding places and make sure I’ve got a relatively even number of gifts. I’ve been picking things up and shoving them away for a while now and I’ve lost track of what I’ve bought.

So I get everything out and assess the equity of the parenting at Christmas. Then I decide what is from us and what is purportedly from Santa Claus. 

One year when my youngest was 7 or 8 I was in a rush and I used the same wrapping paper for all the gifts regardless of whether it was us or from Santa revealing in an instant to a smart kid that there was no in fact no such thing as Santa. Santa had been revealed as being non existent much earlier than I had hoped. 

I probably would have been in a rush because instead of savouring the moment, wrapping the gifts with care I’m pretty sure I would have been trying to do it quickly because I wanted to crash on the sofa with a glass of wine and a TV show. It would have been a big week at work, trying to get everything done before I went on leave and I would have seen it as a chore I had to do instead of something magical and fun I wanted to do. 

Today is the Equity in Gift Giving day.  Both kids are out and I have the entire afternoon to lay everything else and assess what I’ve been collecting. 

This year I have bought beautiful paper with native Australian flora on it and lots of wrapping accessories such as bows, ribbons and tags. I’m going to play Christmas Carols at full volume and think about how excited the kids will be opening their presents on Christmas Day. I’m going to treat this time as a special moment. One day the kids will be living overseas or have in laws whose turn it is to see them at Christmas and we will be without them. 

So this Christmas I’m going to be completely present with the presents.