Super Mommy Secret~The Present Game

The Present Game

Here is a new tradition we practice at birthday time!! 

A few months ago I was sitting in my car at parent pick up and I happened upon this amazing article in my Family Fun magazine.  It is called The Present Game.  It is a great way to help your kids to learn how to receive a gift and be kind and gracious about it (My kids were not very good at this at Christmas time!). Here is how I did it. 

First I gave my kids each a beautifully wrapped gift.  Then I gave them the rules.  First you have to give a sincere thank you for the gift.  Then you open it and pay a compliment to the giver, adding in why you like it or what you can do with it.  (I also let them know that these items were just for fun, not really for keeps.)

Inside the packages were silly items like a plastic cup, a measuring spoon, and an unsharpened pencil.  I am sure my kids had grand expectations from these beautifully wrapped presents so it was great fun to see them open the gifts to find something silly. 

When my son received the pencil he really thought about the gift, then gave me an appropriate compliment like "I love this pencil, I can use it for my homework!"  Then, when my daughter opened her single purple sock and seemed stumped as to what compliment to pay me, my son whispered to her, "Thanks, Mom, purple is my favorite color!"

They had a great time when I then let them go "shopping" around the house for each other AND they did a great job finding nice things to say to each other about each gift.

I was ecstatic that they were getting this!!  It is exactly how I imagine them acting when receiving a gift from someone.  That is why I thought we should practice at every birthday!  I added it onto our Birthday Countdown Board activities so that I wont forget.