Our Christmas General Store

The Christmas season invites thoughts of peace and joy, yet with five young children all wanting to give gifts to each other, our family time often turns to shopping time and messy crafts. One Christmas we decided to try something different and developed the idea for our Christmas General Store, which we continue to use.

Several months before Christmas I begin buying or making small gifts that our children would like. On the first of December, with the General Store inventory already in stock, we tell the children that it is time to begin earning “family cash” for doing chores. We explain that family cash can be used to buy Christmas gifts for each other. We make a list of jobs the children can do and give each job a cash value. We help the children set goals for how much cash they want to earn. During the next few weeks our happy little helpers go to work to earn their family cash.

One eventful evening before Christmas we open our Christmas General Store. The children wait outside the room where we display the gifts. Mother, the store manager, opens the door and announces that those wanting to buy gifts for a nine-year-old girl can come in. Everyone but our nine-year-old files into the room to make choices from the goods displayed. Each child pays with family cash and tucks away the rest until the next department opens.

During the evening, the department store cracks open again and again. Mother announces the opening of the men’s department, where gifts for fathers can be purchased or other departments specializing in Christmas gifts for little girls and little boys. Dad runs the courtesy gift wrap department for those in need of assistance.

Our Christmas General Store has turned shopping hassle into Christmas fun. We enjoy the gift-giving portion of Christmas with our young family, helping us to feel more at peace during the holiday season.—Karen A. Kimball, Irvine, California

Illustrated by Beth M. Whittaker