We have many family holiday traditions. I sometimes worry that’s the only way our grandkids will remember us. I realize their lives will grow as they get into college, begin a career and start their own families. These experiences will really create those long-term memories. Until then, I’m all about creating moments of joy that make us smile. Memories of holiday traditions are especially wonderful!
Ditching the “From Santa” Tag
When the grandkids were little, we thought about signing gift tags from “Santa”. I was, after all, still thinking of us as “Santa”. I know that says a lot about my personality type, oh my goodness. I quickly asked myself how many Santas could there be in our grandkids’ lives? Having multiple Santas at the mall is one thing, but getting gifts from multiple Santas was too much. The presents from Santa needed to be at the grandkids’ homes, where they opened gifts on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning. Ho! Ho! Ho!
When you hit a roadblock for one idea, you look for another route. Another route was to sign the gifts “Love Grandpa and Grandma.” This isn’t boring, but I needed a little more zing to the gift giving.
Maybe I was worried our gifts were boring, and we needed a reason to giggle. Maybe I was afraid the grandkids needed a reason to open our gifts. Maybe I thought they needed to work for the gifts. I have no idea! But Grandpa and I agreed to be a little creative to provide some mystery. Grandpa and I tried to come up with a way to sign the gift tag that would involve play, fun, engagement and mystery.
Creating a Gift-Opening Game for the Grandkids
Our tradition for years has been that, while we wrap the gifts, we come up with goofy names for the tags that relate to the gifts. Of course, we have the benefit of having a laptop (and a glass of wine) with us as we create our name tags!
For example, if the gift is a pair of jeans, we sign the tag “From Levi” or “Strauss”. If the grandkid on the receiving end doesn’t get the connection, Grandpa provides the explanation. Grandpa is, after all, a walking encyclopedia! A few of our other examples:
- A pair of tennis shoes from Mr. James (that is, LeBron)
- A coat from Perry (discovered the North Pole)
- A basketball from James Naismith (created basketball at KU)
- Hand lotion from Andrew Jergens
- NIKE gear from Waffleman (NIKE founder created the soles for his shoes on his wife’s wafflemaker)
The bottom line is it’s not about who the gift is from. It’s the joy of giving and laughing with our family.
Some of our traditions and gift tag names may be unorthodox, but we’re blessed with the special time and enjoy this tradition with our grandkids and their parents. We hope we never run out of ideas to continue this tradition of weird memories. And we hope our time together as a family will continue for many years to come!
Nancy Becker
Grandkids & Grandparents
I have four grandchildren ages 14-17. In some ways, I’m a very typical grandma, always proud of everything the kids do and wanting to help support them in whatever way I can. In other ways, I’m not very typical. My goal as a blogger is to share my thoughts and experiences that I think are funny and meaningful as I adventure through grandmahood.
