Every year we collect white gifts at our church for a local toy ministry. The gifts will eventually be unwrapped and parents will be able to shop for their individual children’s needs, but for now they are wrapped in white tissue paper. Wrapping them all in white takes the emphasis off what is inside the gift – no matter how large or small or colorful or exciting the actual toy is.
I didn’t take the girls shopping for the toys – I felt quite certain that the shelves and shelves of toys would be a distraction to the purpose. But I picked up three really great games and brought them home, and the girls wrapped them in white tissue – excited for Sunday. On Sunday, all the children will wind their way through the pews, collecting white gifts from everyone and bringing them forward. You catch your breath a little when you see the enormous piles of white presents – mountains and mountains of them. The kids speed up with excitement, and tissue papered boxes teeter precariously at the altar rail.
I picked up some mittens as well for the mitten tree. I noticed an overabundance of pink and purple ones last Sunday, so I got a couple of darker / brighter ones. And someone sprouted mitten ears for a bit.
I ordered the rest of the “Just One Bite” treats for the twenty-four gift baskets for the teachers and staff at E’s school. They are going to look so cute in those baskets, and I get to scratch a bit of cookie making off my list for the month – which is a good thing because I’m so busy at work. I usually try to take one day off during the month to get some things done while flying solo, but I’m not sure that I can pull that off this year. Having talented friends with cute gift offerings certainly helps. If you are looking for a great (and reasonably priced) gift idea for teachers / co-workers etc, then these are perfect. She’ll even package them up in a mug with a tiny whisk for the perfect presentation – and most are gluten-free as well.
I worked on the envelopes for my cards for awhile, and then we called it an evening sort of early (prior to midnight early). The month marches on, and so do we.