Most years, a few days before Christmas, I wrap a really ugly gift. The item inside isn’t ugly but the box is ugly because I use all of my leftover wrapping paper. A recent ugly gift had shiny red and silver paper that said, “ho, ho, ho,” some birthday paper with a Finding Nemo theme, and some lime green paper with large white polka dots. I also added some shiny gold ribbon. It was horribly mismatched. The gift is part of a game my family plays.Inside the largest box is another box, followed by another, and another, and another. They somewhat resemble nesting dolls. In total there are usually five or six boxes. Before being placed inside the next box, each box is first taped like whatever is inside needs to be restrained there. Then each box is wrapped, and again, each seam of wrapping paper is taped completely with packaging tape. Inside the inner most box is a small gift. The gift can be anything. A gas card, candy, beef jerky, other treats. I once used lottery tickets as the prize, but quickly learned my lesson on that. When I explain the game, you’ll understand.
On the day of our family Christmas party, we clear the kitchen table and move the chairs away from the table. Everyone who wants to play stands around the table. One person starts with the ugly gift, while the person to their right starts with a die (still the appropriate singular for dice, as goofy as it may sound). We agree on a number, usually four, for whatever reason. The person starts rolling the die while the person with the box starts to unwrap it. When the person with the die gets the agreed upon number, he or she passes the die to the next person and the box gets handed to the person who was rolling the die and it begins all over again. This gift box and die continue to be handed around the circle of players. The lucky person who gets to the prize first is the winner.
There’s more. We all wear mittens while playing. The mittens add a whole new dimension to the game. It is hard enough to open the boxes as it is. But add some mittens and it becomes incredibly funny. We laugh. We yell. Sometimes the box gets thrown in frustration. We cheer. We learned to move the chairs far away from the table because sometimes they get knocked down. And the lotto ticket lesson? Lotto tickets tear too easily and this game can get a little crazy. Torn lotto tickets aren’t a very good prize.
This is just a silly tradition that we play each year because it is fun and makes all of us laugh. But the key to it is the mittens. The game could be played without them but it wouldn’t be nearly as much fun. And why not do something extra to make things a little more fun? I believe that life should be fun. Fun is important and it makes us more efficient and effective at our work because it eliminates stress and builds a stronger team.
What can you do to add some adventure and fun to your life? What about to the interactions you have with others? To our Christmas, an ugly gift and some mittens are what add a whole lot of laughter and great memories. If you take some extra effort to add your own version of mittens and an ugly gift to your life, you’ll be glad you did.