That's a Wrap

A Sweet Gift Giving Tradition When chilly weather rolls in, and light-up reindeer begin to graze on lawns throughout the neighborhood, second-year Nursing student Casey Freeman dons oven mitts and hits the kitchen to do some holiday baking. For the last two years, Freeman and her best friend have baked tins of Christmas cookies to give each of their closest friends during the holiday season.

To make enough sweet treats for 20 or so of their hungry buds, Freeman and her friend spend the whole day in the kitchen, and bake eight batches total.

The finishing touches on their cookie creations are decorations of icing, sprinkles and "anything else we can pull out of the pantry," Freeman said.

The one snag in Freeman's gift strategy is the temptation to sneak pieces of the cookie while mixing.

"That's our one weakness," she said. "Eating the dough."

There normally aren't any cookies left over, but Freeman doesn't mind.

"By the time we're done, we're usually sick of the dough, so we give as many of them as we can away," she said.

And as for a gift for her best friend and baking buddy, Freeman says the gift they give to each other are the good memories cooked up while baking each year.

Handmade for the Holidays

Sometimes gifts that cost nothing become the most priceless presents.

First-year College student Sharmeen Noor recalled one of her favorite gift- giving experiences that occurred when she was in the second grade.

"What we had to do is make these books for our parents, and mine was for my mom," Noor said.

Noor's book consisted of a short biography of her mother, as well as writing about what she appreciated about her mom.

Hand drawn illustrations and photos added color to the book's pages.

"I had to get photos of my mom from my dad, and sneak around to decorate each page," she said.

Noor still remembers her mother's surprise and joyful reaction to receiving the book as a gift.

"We gave it to her and she was really happy," Noor said.

Today, her mother still cherishes the book, and Noor reflected fondly on making it.

"It was kind of ridiculous, with my big second grade handwriting," she said. "We had to write drafts."

A Collegiate Christmas Gift

Third-year Nursing School student Janine Nagle stops by the University bookstore when it's time to cross names off her holiday gift list. Since her first year at the University, Nagle has been getting University ornaments as Christmas gifts for her family members.

"U.Va has a series of ornaments, so I try to get the next one in the series each year," Nagle said.

As a first year, the bookstore was a convenient place to pick up gifts, but requests from her relatives have kept Nagle coming back each year.

"It was easy to get over here when I was a first year, and now it's just that people like it," she said. "Each year they add it to their Christmas trees."

Nagle's ornament gifts are part of a greater family tradition.

"Ornaments are a big thing in my family," she said.

Nagle's mom buys one for her and her sister each year. "So that when we move out we'll have our own," she said.

So Nagle's gift idea is a perfect match to her parent's annual present. "Since they give us ours, my sister and I buy them ornaments back," she said.

Nagle's sister goes to James Madison University, and carries on the tradition by adding a second college ornament each year.

A Gift of Knowledge

Second-year College student Kieran Carter already knows what she's getting for Christmas this year, and couldn't be more excited about it.

"My boyfriend is getting me guitar lessons for Christmas this year," Carter said. "He had to tell me what my present was going to be so that he could be sure the classes would work with my schedule."

Carter didn't mind the spoiled surprise, however -- the lessons were just what she wanted.

"I told my boyfriend I would like to receive a gift that was an experience, rather than a material object," she said.

Although Carter originally had a dinner with her boyfriend, or time spent together, in mind, she is thrilled with his thoughtful answer to her Christmas wish.

"I have been saying that I wanted to pick up guitar playing again for awhile, and now I'll finally get the chance," she said.

For Carter, gaining more experience and knowledge about playing the guitar is more valuable then a trinket or piece of jewelry.

Now it's her turn to come up with a creative twist on Christmas gift giving.

Carter is considering following her boyfriend's lead, and giving the gift of knowledge as well.

"My boyfriend loves cooking, so I was thinking about getting him Asian Cooking lessons for Christmas," she said.

He'll be able to savor the memories of that gift for a lifetime.