family fun
Holiday Traditions: Writing Poems for Christmas Gifts
mom • family fun & traditions • family fun • family fun-traditions
What do you do when the kids start growing up and the magic is beginning to fade on Christmas morning? Tired of the same old routine? Get up, experience a wild fury of paper and presents, then it's done! What can you do? Add present poems!
This is a fantastic way to bring the spirit of Christmas back and help you connect with loved ones on a whole new creative level. Everyone can write a poem! The crazier and more mixed up the better. Throw them off the scent or make it meaningful. This may be the beginning of a wonderful new family tradition.
My husband's family has been writing poems for presents for three generations. Every Christmas they would choose a few special gifts and write a fun poem to go along with it. This would liven things up and extend the giving, because along with the present was a little bit of themselves.
I joined the fun 20 years ago and I love it! Some of my most memorable gifts are the ones that my husband wrote. One year, the poem began "Crunch, crunch, munch, munch..." I still have the box of leaves that he collected. He said everywhere I went I would go out of my way to walk on the crunchy leaves. The poem made those leaves come to life!
This year, I am writing one for him (I hope he is not reading this!) for a special gift I plan to give. He loves model airplanes and I have arranged the next step up — a private flight in a small aircraft. So here is the poem-
The obsession started long ago, one crazy gift, one year,
And now is like a freight train, UNSTOPPABLE, I fear!
So, why not take it further, don’t let this chance go by,
And take your love and passion straight up into the sky!
See? Easy! And fun! I just can't wait to see his face!
Try it! Write a poem for a few presents and see what happens! You will be surprised. Encourage your family members to do it as well. And next year it will get easier. And when you are out shopping, you may find a few things that are just begging for a poem. You don't have to be Dickens and nothing really has to rhyme. Just give it your best shot and have a good time! Hey, what do you know, there's a poem right there! Merry Christmas!
What are your family traditions? What traditions have been passed down for generations?
Photos courtesy of Flickr.
Susan lives in Boise, Idaho, and is a self-taught artist and a jack of many artsy trades. She is married to professional artist and has two great teenagers. She has her hand in a lot of pots. She in very involved in her community and church. She loves friends, family, movies, eating out, laughing, and vacationing to warm destinations! She just started her own blog: visit susansspinningplates.wordpress.com
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