December 2023 - Deeply Rooted in Giving - The Salvation Army USA National Women's Ministries

‘My Favorite Things’ Holiday Gift Exchange

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 9:7.

Decorations

Set a warm and inviting tone for this event to make it meaningful. Decorate the tables with white, gold, or silver tablecloths and candles. Create a shimmery look with glitter or iridescent fabric. Use square, oval, or octagon mirror tiles with white or cream candles for the centerpieces. Add Chrismon ornaments to compliment the centerpiece.

Refreshments

Serve a Charcutier board featuring fruits, vegetables, cheese, and crackers. Serve sparkling grape juice or apple cider in a festive punch bowl.
Pre-bake sugar cookies and provide supplies, including a variety of sprinkles for decorating. Provide Chrismon patterns for women to use in decorating the cookies.

Origin of Chrismon:

These decorations, which were first made by Frances Kipps Spencer, originated at the Ascension Lutheran Church in Danville, Virginia. She developed them because she wanted Christians to remember why they celebrated Christmas. Instead of placing any traditional decorations on a tree at Christmas time, Frances wanted to put some meaning behind them. So, she developed decorations with Christian symbols on them that helped remind Christians of the birth of Christ. The Ascension Lutheran Church still practices what Frances began. Each year they put up a twenty-foot Christmas tree and open the church up to the public. When visitors come, they are told the story of Jesus through Frances’ original Chrismon.

These decorations are traditionally white and gold. White represents the color of Christmas and the purity of Jesus when He came to the earth. Gold represents the majesty and glory of Christ. When other churches picked up the tradition of Chrismon, they began to develop symbols that were unique to their church but still tell the same story.

Below is a video that helps explain Chrismon and gives you a visual of a Chrismon tree. You may have seen these many times but did not know they were called something else.

Link to Patterns Explanations: Below are links to explain the various patterns and their meaning.

Craft: How to Make a Chrismon

Below you will find links with instructions on creating your ornaments.

Games:

Guess the Meaning:

Have available examples of the symbols used as well as possible meanings. The goal will be to associate the picture with its meaning correctly.

https://holidappy.com/holidays/Martin-Luther-Frances-Kipps-Spencer-and-Chrismons

Matching Game:

This game could be done collectively as a group or for individuals to ‘race’ and is even open to other adaptations.

Per group (or individual) print out two copies of each symbol/pattern on cardstock. For individuals, use 4”x4” or even playing card size. For large groups, style a full sheet of cardstock or copy paper. I recommend gluing it onto construction paper to give a darker background.

Place cards face down to begin the game. For a larger group, split into teams and give each team a turn to flip two cards right side up. If the two cards match, the team gets to keep those cards. Allow the next team to take their turn. If the cards do not match, they will be turned back and left on the board.
When individuals are racing, have everyone take their cards and place them face down. Have them mix the cards around while face down to make the challenge fair. Set a timer and instruct the individuals to make as many matches as possible. Another option instead of setting a timer is to see how long it takes the first person to make all matches.

Chrismon’s Bingo Board

To aid in learning the different symbols, use the link to access 30 5”x8” Chrismon Bingo Cards. Use your favorite candy as a space marker. https://myfreebingocards.com/bingo-card-generator/30-free-cards/jkmjg6k

The Perfect Gift

At Christmas, our hearts and minds are quite focused on giving gifts. Giving gifts is truly one of my favorite things. When we share a gift with a friend, family member, or co-worker, we share a piece of what they mean to us. To give a meaningful gift, we take what we have learned about them, their hobbies, interests, collections, or crazy impulses, and pick out that special gift. We anticipate the smile on their face as they open the perfect gift selected for them. Some people are fun and easy to shop for. You know what they like and find the ideal gift almost immediately.

Then, others are so hard to shop for. This is not because they only want expensive things or won’t value any gift; they just aren’t easy to shop for. This often makes us more reluctant to buy anything for them. Sometimes we take the easy way out and purchase a gift card. After all, who doesn’t love a gift card?

However, what better way can we participate in a holiday gift exchange than to give someone a gift with no solicited monetary value, for those are the things that never perish. How much time do we spend with our families throughout the year? Are we present outside of just the ‘special’ occasions? Do we invest time in their special interests? Time is one of the most valuable things we have in life. We never know how much of it we have left, yet we only seem to cherish it when the moments and opportunities have passed.

Give yourself and your family the greatest gift this year: time together. Whatever that may look like for you—more video chats, brunches, carpooling, games, shared movies. Give to each other freely what God has given us. Time is a gift, use it wisely.

Why not give the gift that keeps on giving. Share our Lord in Savior Jesus Christ and what His birth means to the world? Share the story, symbols, and meaning of the Chrismon with your friends and family. You could even make an ornament as a gift for a loved one.

Learning together and exploring the Chrismon with friends and family is a simple and non–threatening activity. It brings the pieces of Christ’s story together. No matter the age or reading level of those in the group, having pictures will open up opportunities to talk, share, and learn together.

“The free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:23); “By grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Eph. 2:8); “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” (2 Corin. 9:15)