Wrapping Christmas Presents

Some days you just have to let it roll. Throw caution to the wind. Let the pieces fall where they may. Let the little girl practice her skillz and give her imagination a work out.

I let her wrap some Christmas presents today. That may not sound ominous....but it should!

Ok, it's not that bad, and I enabled her. Like I said, I threw caution and my desire to be less wasteful to the wind. Besides....I've had that roll of wrapping paper for YEARS! How else am I supposed to use it up? When I bought that roll of wrapping paper, I don't think having children was even on the radar. So to think that the tail end of that roll got assaulted by a now 3-year old....is actually a satisfactory end to some age-old wrapping paper. Let's move on to the story, shall we?

I was busy doing dishes and Mr.Mister was busy sawing logs in his crib. I had been wrapping some presents to send out in the mail (dare I say we might actually get them to their destination on time? They may just make it there by Christmas Eve! And now I've jinxed us...) and I left the roll of paper and tape dispenser on the table. Lil' Miss kind of looked at it then ran off in a rush to the office and came back flailing her scissors.

Lil' Miss: Mommy, I'm going to wrap some presents. What should I wrap"

Mommy: I don't know. I shrug my shoulders.

She disappears again and shows up with 3 Fisher Price little people (plastic figurines).

Lil' Miss: Mommy, I'm going to wrap these for Mr.Mister. I'm going to wrap these dolls for Mr.Mister. These are Mr.Mister's dolls.

Ok. She gets into her chair at the table and kind of looks around.

Lil' Miss: Mommy, I'm going to cut a piece of wrapping paper.

Mommy: Oh Lil' Miss, I don't really want you to do that. I still need that wrapping paper to finish my presents.

Lil' Miss: That's ok Mommy. I'll still leave a piece for you.

Mommy: Oh, Lil' Miss, please don't.

She starts cutting anyhow, raving on how she'll save some for me in the end. At this point I could have just lost it because once again she didn't listen to a word I said. But I didn't. It's just wrapping paper.

 So she cuts and cuts and cuts and cuts. She gets what she deems a good size (right from the middle of the roll) and lays the 'dolls' in the middle of it. Then she attacks the tape dispenser. And Lord help me, I let her. She's kind of getting it, but having alot of trouble. So I buckle down and rip off about 10 strips and stick them to the side of her crayon basket so she can just grab and use.

Mommy: Now Lil' Miss, I have to go fold the laundry. You use these pieces of tape and wrap your present.

Lil' Miss: OK! (And you should hear her say 'ok'. It's actually kind of funny...like 'of course mom, I know that!")

I go fold my laundry. I'm gone for about 30 seconds and I hear the tape dispenser. I peek around the corner....she's blasted through the ten pieces of tape ALREADY!

 So I giver her some more...10 more pieces....and this time it gives me about 40 seconds of laundry folding time. I hear the tape dispenser again. How much friggin tape does this kid need????? I look. Yeah, she needs more. Holy smokes. I set her up with yet another round of 10 pieces. 30 more seconds of laundry folding.

Lil'Miss: MOM! HOW DO YOU SPELL MR.MISTER'S NAME? WHAT DOES IT START WITH?

I tell her it starts with an 'N'.

Lil' Miss: I DON'T KNOW HOW TO DRAW THAT!

Hmmmm, I go over and write Mr.Mister's name on the newly wrapped present. She's happy with that and does a little practicing. But ends up writing 'MOM' on a different piece of paper and is even happier with that. She figures she's done with that present. I tell her to go put it under the tree.

Lil' Miss: Ok! (there's that 'Ok' again)

She leaves with the wrapped present and comes back with a bracelet. And the whole process starts over again. Only this time I let her get her own tape.

So in the end there are now 3 presents wrapped by Lil' Miss under the tree (although I think one met it's demise earlier in the day...it was a car for Mr.Mister, and I just picked up all the toys and found said car....unwrapped.) and she keeps bringing one out, asking if she can open it. I keep telling her that we have to wait for Christmas now before we can open those presents. I don't think she's happy with the situation, but she has put them back under the tree. I told her that she should think of a present for Daddy and we could wrap that and put it under the tree. My line of thought was for her to come up with a gift, we'd go buy it, and that would be her present to Dad. But she hasn't come up with anything....until this evening....
Dad came home and she had to show him her wrapped presents! He was impressed and asked if there was one for him. She thought for a moment...
Lil' Miss: Daddy, what do you want for Christmas?
Big Guy: I don't know, what should I get?
More thought.....
Lil' Miss: I know, you should get a golf club with purple stripes and pink butterflies on it.
Daddy is definately impressed.
Big Guy: Oh that would be nice.
Lil' Miss takes off in a whirlwind again and disappears into the basement. She comes up with one of the Big Guy's putters (a belly putter people!!!!). She has full intentions of wrapping it for him. (I'm wondering if I'll have enough tape to get through another session of present wrapping...) But it's getting late already and I tell her we'll wrap it tomorrow. She goes and puts it in the corner with what remains of the roll of wrapping paper. She has a look of satisfaction on her face. She definately thinks she's going to wrap that tomorrow!
But don't tell the Big Guy what he's getting for Christmas! IT'S A SEC-ER-ET!