Day Seven: 12 Days of Christmas Stories {The Christmas Envelope & DIY Envelopes}

Check out Day One: Christmas Day in the Morning

Check out Day Two: The Three Trees

Check out Day Three: A Christmas Carol

Check out Day Four: The Gift of the Maji

Check out Day Five: I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day

Check out Day Six: ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas

Read the story below and then we will chat (or click here to download it The Christmas Envelope Click on the link and then on the next page again to download).

The Christmas Envelope

Author Unknown

It’s just a small, white envelope stuck among the branches of our Christmas tree. No name, no identification, no inscription. It has peeked through the branches of our tree for the past 10 years or so.
It all began because my husband, Mike, hated Christmas–oh, not the true meaning of Christmas, but the commercial aspects of it-overspending…the frantic running around at the last minute to get a tie for Uncle Harry and the dusting powder for Grandma–the gifts given in desperation because you couldn’t think of anything else.
Knowing he felt this way, I decided one year to bypass the usual shirts, sweaters, ties and so forth. I reached for something special just for Mike. The inspiration came in an unusual way. Our son, Kevin, who was 12 that year, was wrestling at the junior level at the school he attended; and shortly before Christmas, there was a non-league match against a team sponsored by an inner-city school. These youngsters, dressed in sneakers so ragged that shoestrings seemed to be the only thing holding them together, presented a sharp contrast to our boys in their spiffy blue and gold uniforms and sparkling new wrestling shoes.
As the match began, I was alarmed to see that the other team was wrestling without headgear, a kind of light helmet designed to protect a wrestler’s ears. It was a luxury the ragtag team obviously could not afford. Well, we ended up walloping them. We took every weight class. And as each of their boys got up from the mat, he swaggered around his tatters with false bravado, a kind of street pride that couldn’t acknowledge defeat.
Mike, seated beside me, shook his head sadly, “I wish just one of them could have won,” he said. “They have a lot of potential, but losing like this could take the heart right out of them.” Mike loved kids-all kids-and he knew them, having coached little league football, baseball, and lacrosse. That’s when the idea for his present came. That afternoon, I went to a local sporting goods store and bought an assortment of wrestling headgear and shoes and sent them anonymously to the inner-city school.
On Christmas Eve, I placed the envelope on the tree, the note inside telling Mike what I had done and that was his gift from me. His smile was the brightest thing about Christmas that year and in succeeding years.
For each Christmas, I followed the tradition–one year sending a group of mentally handicapped youngsters to a hockey game, another year a check to a pair of elderly brothers whose home had burned to the ground the week before Christmas, and on and on. The envelope became the highlight of our Christmas. It was always the last thing opened on Christmas morning and our children, ignoring their new toys, would stand with wide-eyed anticipation as their dad lifted the envelope from the tree to reveal its contents.
As the children grew, the toys gave way to more practical presents, but the envelope never lost its allure. The story doesn’t end there.

You see, we lost Mike last year due to dreaded cancer. When Christmas rolled around, I was still so wrapped in grief that I barely got the tree up. But Christmas Eve found me placing an envelope on the tree, and in the morning, it was joined by three more. Each of our children unbeknownst to the others, had placed an envelope on the tree for their dad. The tradition has grown and someday will expand even further with our grandchildren standing around the tree with wide-eyed anticipation watching as their fathers take down the envelope.

Mikes’ spirit, like the Christmas spirit, will always be with us.

May we all remember Christ, who is the reason for the season, and the true Christmas spirit this year and always.

Wow. I am so excited to start this tradition with my family. We’ve already decided who we want to surprise with some extra support this holiday season. I hope you have someone in mind too.

So let’s get crafty, make an envelope and share with our family the joy of giving and serving.

Step One: Pick out some cute scrapbook paper, embellishments and such. Step Two: Unfold an envelope of the size you would like to create and trace it on the back side of your scrapbook paper.

Step Three: Cut out the envelope and use a ruler to score the flaps/folds.

If you look close in this picture below, you will see where I scored the fold.

Step Four: Fold the side and bottom flaps.

Step Five: Glue the bottom flap on top of the two side flaps. You can use a glue stick or a glue like the one I  used.

Step Six: Embellish. Ric rac. Glitter. Twine. Stickers. You want it you got it.

On this second envelope I did a vintage wax seal. This is so easy and fun. Just take a crayon and melt it with a lighter so that the wax drips onto the seal than use any metal object to press down the wax while it is still melted.

Step Seven: Fill your envelope and enjoy.

I am in love with this red and blue color combo.

I picked up this cute sleigh at the thrift store for a dollar. I think it could use some glitter…

What ways does your family share the spirit with those around you?

Linking up with: Or So She Says