Teaching Our Children to be Cheerful Receivers

Christmas will soon be here and as much as our family enjoys the blessings of giving, it is not always easy being a cheerful receiver. Sometimes we receive gifts that we do not like or gifts that we will never use; but this should not stop us from being a cheerful receiver. If your children need help learning to be a cheerful receiver, I would like to encourage you to gather up some unusual Christmas gifts like an ugly sweater, a used book, a bar of soap, etc. - just be sure each child has a gift to unwrap. Use these gifts to teach invaluable lessons on being a cheerful receiver.

Children may not always understand why a gift was given, so we need to encourage them to be thankful and teach them how to be a cheerful receiver. What good is an ugly sweater? Well, this will really keep one warm on a chilly winter night. What good is a used book? Maybe the gift was given from someone who read it cover to cover and wished to pass on their love for reading with their favorite, autographed book - never judge a book by its cover - or maybe its a book out of print with special meaning. What good is a bar of soap? Perhaps its a homemade bar of soap, talk about the labor of love put in to making that bar of soap.

It may not always be easy to be a cheerful receiver; but there is always something positive we can say about the gifts we receive. As parents, we need to be a cheerful receiver too. When it comes to teaching our children, much more is caught than taught. We cannot expect our children to rise above our example.