One thing I really enjoy doing is wrapping presents. I love to make creative shapes to mask what’s really inside, and I love to make them all pretty with ribbons and bows and handmade tags. Plus, I love paper and all things paper-related, so buying wrapping paper (and cards) is one of my favourite parts of the holiday season — a reason to buy more paper, fully endorsed and guilt free!

Aside: when I was a teenager I had a real reputation in my family for being “the” gift wrapper, so I would like to take this moment to acknowledge that as much as I like to wrap presents, is actually better at it than I am. It’s one of those situations where one kid in the family gets identified as something — like, the sporty one, or the scary one, or the posh one…or is that the Spice Girls? Anyway, once the label of “good wrapper” gets attached to one, the rest of the family can’t see the wrapping for the label, if you will, and so ‘s superior skills have been woefully ignored, until now. You rock, girl!

Anyway, one way that I am trying to grow as a parent and as a person is to let my kids help with the Christmas wrapping this year. I get out my little (okay, ENORMOUS) box of gift wrap and wrapping accessories and let them pick out whatever they want. Then I help them as little as possible, although that is very, very hard, with my inner voice screaming, “NO! The BLUE bows go with the snowman paper! The red bows are for the SANTA paper!”

I just finished wrapping a set with Gal Smiley and they have tape haphazardly placed all over the packages, and they’re all wrapped in the same paper — she obviously does not share my need for a wide, wide selection of pretty papers. She preferred the store-bought sticker labels to my own lovingly handmade versions and she scribbled a little on each tag.

I didn’t even say anything…much. And it was a nice, Christmasy time for all. I think my heart grew two sizes today!