Under the Tree

Long after the Santa myth had been dispelled, I looked forward to Christmas morning. Brightly wrapped boxes held the reminder that there was magic in the world.


My mother has an uncanny ability to shop without a list, finding treasures that are just perfect-books I wanted to read, journals to spill my thoughts, lotion in my favorite scent-treasures that show she pays attention all year long to figure out what I’d love to receive.


Now that I am the one doing the wrapping and know the secrets of the majority of the boxes nestled under the tree, I find that the anticipation of Christmas morning is a little different. My eyes don’t search for the gifts labeled with my name but focus on the expressions on my children’s faces as they pull open paper and tape and discover their own treasures inside.


Finding joy in gifts seems a little like cheating during the holidays; I know there’s so much more to the season than the material things that tumble out of Santa’s sack each Christmas Eve.

But Abbey and Dylan remind me that the magic found in gifts doesn’t have to be about the price tag or the quantity of gifts they get to unwrap. They’re amazed by the paper and the opening and the idea that there’s something they wanted hiding within a box.


Their excitement makes me realize that Christmas surprises are gratifying for the gift giver in a whole other way than they are for the receiver. It’s a way to show you’ve noticed a want or a need and have worked to find a way to grant that wish.


The surprise doesn’t have to be wrapped in paper or tied with a bow. It can be an offer to help make dinner or watch someone’s children for a few hours or relinquishing the remote for the evening.

Surprise someone you love this Christmas. You won’t regret it.

And you won’t regret watching this video. It will infuse a little extra holiday spirit into your day.

This post is sponsored by T-Mobile, but all opinions expressed are my own.