Give the Gift of Reading

As the Christmas shopping season gears up, parents may start worrying. Will the budget stretch to make it a “Merry Christmas”? It is important to remember that happiness does not necessarily come from a shopping mall.

Think about giving the gift of time and giving of yourself. A great stocking stuffer for a child could be a first-time library card with their name on it. Attach to the card, a coupon promising once a week trips to the library to pick out books with the new library card. An alternate idea for the coupon is a promise to read to the child every night at bedtime from the library books.

The cost is minimal and the recipient enjoys the present all through the year. There are plenty of other ways to incorporate reading and books into your Christmas plans.

Another gift idea for a child is creating a storybook about their life. Pull out all the photos stashed in that shoebox. Make a simple book from colored construction paper tied with yarn. Attach the pictures and write the story to accompany the photos. It can be fanciful with dragons and pixies or a true story about events in their life. They will love seeing themselves in the story and want to read it over and over.

If you still want to shop for presents, remember that books fit all sizes (and won’t shrink), can be used many times, and take up little space in a child’s room. They are easy to wrap or to mail. Books make great gifts for the adults on your Christmas list also.

For more inexpensive gift ideas, borrow some of the craft books from the library. There is still plenty of time to knit, sew, hammer, glue or otherwise create a gift for the special people in your life. They will love their one-of-a-kind made-with-love presents.

Story ID:	1270
Written by:	Virginia Allain (bio, link, contact, other stories)
Organization:	none
Story type:	Things to do
Location:	Weslaco Texas USA
Year:	2000
Person:	Christmas & Books