Share Your Gifts
With the coming of Epiphany, we mark the arrival of the Wise Men in Bethlehem. And just as they came bearing gifts for Baby Jesus, your family can celebrate the occasion through gifts – but not the kind you make or buy (we just spent months doing that). Instead, share your gifts with each other by teaching each other something you know!
Each person in your family will need to think of something they can do that is unique to them. It might be a skill they can pass on, like cooking a favorite dish, or playing the piano, or whistling, or maybe it’s a piece of knowledge, like how to speak another language, or the names of every President, or how to use the Nest thermostat in your house (a very valuable thing to know!).
Be prepared for your brain to try to tell you the things you can do aren’t “worth” sharing, and don’t listen! Instead, do your best to remind yourself – and model for the rest of your family – how to take pride in your gifts. If you’ve got young people in your family, this is also a great time to let them know that the adults aren’t ALWAYS the teachers and children the learners – kids have things to teach as well. For example, there’s a good chance they can floss (the dance, although maybe they also have really clean teeth), or play their favorite video game, or count by threes better than anyone else in the family.
After you give everyone time to thing about what gift they’d like to share, give them time to think about how they’ll demonstrate or explain it, as well as how much of it they’d like to share. For example, if you know to speak Dutch (good for you!), you may want to choose a few phrases to teach everyone, rather than EVERYTHING you know how to say. Then take turns being the teacher and the learners. Space out the sharing however you’d like, and take as much time as you’d like, especially if somebody’s gift is complicated or challenging – working through it together is part of the fun. You may even want to share your gifts regularly, and keep the whole family motivated to keep learning new things!
If your family spends some time sharing gifts with each other this week, we’d love to hear about it - leave a comment for us on our Facebook page!
