Shh…I’m going to share a fun secret with you. Here is a very secret tradition that I do, just on my own. Although now that I have a teenager, I’m thinking about enlisting him to help me with my project.
What I like to do is to sneak tiny presents under friends’ Christmas trees. Or if their stockings are hung, I can slip the tiny gift inside. The reason is simple. We moms work very hard pulling off Christmas. And we don’t often get very many surprises on Christmas morning. (I’m talking nice surprises here– not wet beds or ear infections!) Some of us moms even buy and wrap our own presents, or at least give a very detailed gift list.
I used to label these surprise boxes as being from Santa. Lately, I’ve taken to labeling them “From Mrs. Claus, who understands all the hard work women put into the holiday.” What are the gifts? Anything that says special and that is also small enough to be hidden in a hand or pocket. Earrings, lipstick, peppermint foot lotion, gourmet chocolates or candy, imported shortbread, a tiny book of devotions. Sometimes it’s even something for the child inside the woman, a chocolate reindeer, or a gingerbread cookie with her name on it. I aim for anything that will bring a smile to my friends face. Anything that is just for her, and if the present is to eat, I write on the tag that she doesn’t have to share.
Imagine my friend on Christmas morning. She won’t be expecting another gift. Someone will notice one tiny little package in the back of the tree. She’ll be surprised and delighted that there’s a package she wasn’t expecting. Chances are she will have had a lot of people through her house between the time I slipped the gift out of my coat pocket and under the tree or in her stocking. She won’t have a clue who put it there.
I started this one year when a friend had financial problems. Her family couldn’t afford any extra gifts that year and she said we shouldn’t exchange presents. I understood, but I’d already gotten her something that I really wanted her to have. And I knew if I gave it to her anyway, she’d feel obligated to get me something. She would argue with me. But she couldn’t argue with Santa Claus!
Doing this is so much fun for me. It brings out the joy of the holiday. I do think this idea could be adapted to include children. I’ll keep you posted on what I work out. I think my oldest would love the idea of being a truly secret Santa. I know I have. And although I do this for my mom friends, I’m sure there are some dads who would also benefit.
You may get so inspired that you play Santa for people you don’t know: