A Bit of Christmas Every Day

By Kate Strongin

Based on a true story

The author lives in Utah, USA.

All of the presents were wrapped and under the tree. Or were they?

“Have a very merry Christmas! Scatter gladness ev’rywhere!” (Children’s Songbook, 51).

Christmas was almost here. Amalie was excited. Soon she could unwrap the presents under the tree!

At family home evening it was Mom’s turn to give the lesson.

“Why do we give presents at Christmas?” Mom asked.

“Because it’s Jesus’s birthday!” Amalie said.

“Then shouldn’t we give a present to Him?” Mom said.

Dad helped Amalie’s brother Noah read a scripture. It said that when we serve other people, we are serving God (see Mosiah 2:17).

“Is serving others giving a gift to Jesus?” Mom said.

Noah nodded.

“What else?”

“Keeping the commandments,” Amalie said.

“Being nice,” Noah said.

“Great ideas!” Mom said. “Now let’s play a game. I’ll say a gift someone gave to Jesus. Tell me if you know who it was. Here we go. This person gave out Christmas cards at the care center.”

Noah raised his hand. “Amalie did that!”

“This person went home teaching.”

“That’s Daddy,” Amalie said.

Soon they had named lots of gifts they had already given to the Savior.

“We can give gifts every day,” Mom said.

The next morning it was time to clean the house. “Oh no,” Amalie groaned. But then she remembered. Serving others is a gift! If she helped Mom, it was the same as helping Jesus. She found a cloth and wiped the counters until they shone.

The next day Amalie earned some money.

“Your tithing is eight cents,” Mom said.

Amalie remembered again. Tithing is a commandment, so paying it is a gift. She put eight cents in her tithing jar.

Later that week Amalie helped pick up pillows. Her baby brother had thrown them off the couch. “Another present for Jesus,” she said.

On Christmas Eve, Mom and Dad told Amalie they were proud of her. “You’ve been giving gifts to Jesus all week long,” Dad said. “That’s like having a little bit of Christmas every day.”