Happy birthday, Jesus! The holidays are my favorite time of the year. It's all about the glory of family and friends coming together with profound grace and love for one another. There is also a good mountain of presents lying under the tree ...

 

Now besides that whole "surprise" element, the idea of wrapping up a present is pointless. Think about it: you spend countless hours sacrificing your nimble fingers to painful paper cuts just to wrap a package that will be opened tomorrow. Hmm ... the idea just doesn't make sense. But it seems like a tradition with no substitute, unless you throw a blanket over the gift and call it finished.

 

Personally, I want to still maintain a certain degree of gift wrapping professionalism while also being true to my friend, Mother Earth. So this holiday season I plan to wrap my presents economically and environmentally friendly. Being a journalism major is the key component in this solution. I'll wrap my treasures in the best, most colorful, newspapers I can gather: comics, classifieds and maybe the business section for extra kicks and giggles. I know this isn't the most innovative, newest idea on the planet, but in my house, wrapping paper is a hot commodity. My mom gathers 364 days in advance for the perfect paper for each recepient on her list. My mom has taught me that the wrapping is just as important as the gift underneath. (Until now, that is.)

 

Another goal to save my friends with branches is to make homemade Christmas cards for close friends and family. My goal is to reuse paper scraps as much as I can. My mom is also an avid scrapbooker, and I hope to use her unlimited supply to make cards from scratch. If I run out of material, I guess I'll save some gas and snowshoe to the nearest Hobby Lobby.

 

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!