That’s a Wrap!
Do you enjoy wrapping presents? Not me! The mere thought of scotch tape makes me itch.
I take pleasure in shopping for presents and giving them, but if it weren’t for the brilliant invention of the gift bag with tissue paper on top, I’d be sunk. I even opt for gift cards to circumvent wrapping. Any option available to dodge curly ribbon is good with me.
On the opposite side of the Toyland fence, my mother loves to wrap presents. She has no difficulty spending hours surrounded by scissors, paper, ribbons, and bows. Mom starts wrapping early in the day by making a pot of coffee and then she works diligently with Hallmark paper, happy as an elf at the North Pole through the remainder of the afternoon and night. Thank goodness for her! If it weren’t for my mom, my presents would never get wrapped.
Each year, we sit on her living room floor together near the Christmas tree and wrap while we watch an old black and white movie on television. Our dog Coconut always takes part. He’s very smart and curious; plus, he knows there’ll be a new bone in one of those packages for him.
Typically wrapping is a secretive thing. The whole idea of wrapping is to conceal the contents of your packages. Forget that! I think the key to enjoyable wrapping is: Don’t wrap alone. You can always wrap the present you bought for your North Pole elf (I mean mother) later on.
How did wrapping get started anyways? The story of Jesus’ birth gives us a possible clue:
“So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2: 4-6, NIV).
Mary wrapped the greatest gift: Jesus Christ the Lord. She enveloped him in the warmth of swaddling clothes and laid him to nap on a bed of hay.
Jesus, the most celebrated treasure the world has ever known, was himself wrapped. What’s more, He came with a life-changing message that wraps up eternity.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16, NIV).
When we honor God’s son at Christmas time, He wraps both our hearts and our holiday in the everlasting arms of Heaven’s love.
Even if you’re like me and present wrapping (or other aspects of holiday cheer, such as untangling Christmas tree lights) isn’t your favorite pass time, we can agree to be joyful and display the fruit of patience when we remember how Jesus was enfolded in the will of God as the noblest gift we’ll ever receive.
How about you? Has anything sentimental or humorous ever happened as you were wrapping Christmas gifts? If so, I’d love to hear your story. (Remember how Grandma Griswold accidentally wrapped the family cat on National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation? Now that was wrong!)
~ Jackie O.