White Elephant
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 224
White Elephant
Good morning SR friends!
Each year my Alanon home group has a Christmas pot luck and a our meeting is held afterwards with two groups combined. It is a great time and I really look forward to it! This will be my third year being asked to chair the Christmas meeting.
I make little bookmark type cards and pass two out to each person with a simple instruction. Write an Al-anon slogan, acronym, an "I am ... " statement or an encouraging/motivational word to keep in mind for the New Year. You will keep one card for yourself and give the other one as a white elephant gift to someone else.
Once the cards have been filled out, I collect them, put them in a bag and pass them around the room, each member randomly selecting a card. The rest of the meeting we do a round robin type of share where you can either share about the card you received or what you wrote for yourself.
What happens next always leaves me with goosebumps. That Christmas season magic that is otherwise unexplainable. We tend to get the card with just the right note for each of us. Sometimes the little things can have a big impact. Last year the card I received said, "Check your motives." while the card I gave said, "Let go and let God." Wow! The year prior my card said, "I am worthy of love." and the card I gave said, "I am confident."
If I knew a way to have a virtual white elephant Christmas party with our forum I would do it in a heartbeat!
Does anyone else's group do something similar for Christmas?
What would you write for your white elephant gift?
Each year my Alanon home group has a Christmas pot luck and a our meeting is held afterwards with two groups combined. It is a great time and I really look forward to it! This will be my third year being asked to chair the Christmas meeting.
I make little bookmark type cards and pass two out to each person with a simple instruction. Write an Al-anon slogan, acronym, an "I am ... " statement or an encouraging/motivational word to keep in mind for the New Year. You will keep one card for yourself and give the other one as a white elephant gift to someone else.
Once the cards have been filled out, I collect them, put them in a bag and pass them around the room, each member randomly selecting a card. The rest of the meeting we do a round robin type of share where you can either share about the card you received or what you wrote for yourself.
What happens next always leaves me with goosebumps. That Christmas season magic that is otherwise unexplainable. We tend to get the card with just the right note for each of us. Sometimes the little things can have a big impact. Last year the card I received said, "Check your motives." while the card I gave said, "Let go and let God." Wow! The year prior my card said, "I am worthy of love." and the card I gave said, "I am confident."
If I knew a way to have a virtual white elephant Christmas party with our forum I would do it in a heartbeat!
Does anyone else's group do something similar for Christmas?
What would you write for your white elephant gift?
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 224
Atalose: Someone received, "I am enough" the other night and it meant so much to them. The person shared that three years ago they had ironically (or maybe not) received the exact same card the first year we did this ... she didn't believe it then but continued working the program and was so happy to receive it again because she believes it now. This normally shy, reserved person then started point around the room saying, "And you're enough ... and you're enough ... and you're enough!" Very oprah-esk and it was the best thing I've seen in a while!
Awal: My gift to someone else was "Live and let live" and I received a card that said "Let Go and Let God" ... Different but similar!
Awal: My gift to someone else was "Live and let live" and I received a card that said "Let Go and Let God" ... Different but similar!
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