But really, this was point of whole tradition. Our family has a wonderful sense of humor. Opening up 100's of crazy, ridiculous gifts each year was so much more fun than opening up one or two 'real' gifts. The standard question when one of us would open a gift would be, "Ummm...what is this???". There were many times when we never could figure out what gift was supposed to be.

A favorite thing to do was to trade gifts. If I received an ugly, strange gift, I would barter with someone else for one of their strange gifts. The entire process of opening semi-broken, often useless, but almost always funny gifts, and then trading them back and forth, is a tradition that made our family close as we shared our laughter with one another. (And believe it or not, occasionally gifts were actually useful and just what we needed!)

Mom has passed on now, but memories of those wonderful garage sale Christmas's will always be our most treasured memories.

Create a unique Christmas tradition in your family, and memories will last a lifetime.

Author: Donna D. Fontenot Email: mailto:dazzlindonna@yahoo.com Visit http://www.christmas-corner.com for your guide to Christmas holiday traditions, carols, holiday recipes, gift ideas, and holidy desktop wallpaper.

What, then, was problem?

Could it be, he apparently asked himself, that he was problem?

Was he relating to his young charges correctly? Or was he, quite unwittingly, pushing them into them into same corner into which Bill had been pushed by his colleagues on town council?

How, he asked himself further, does a teacher react if a guest comes to her classroom and forgets her umbrella? Does he run after her and say: "What's matter with you? Every time you come to visit you forget something. Next time, you'll forget your head! Why can't you be like your sister? She's a responsible person.."

For sure, he will say nothing more than "Here's your umbrella." That's it. But nobody knows why a teacher (or a parent) has to assume role of a judge, or a prophet, when he or she is addressing a child.

A wise person knows that to label a person is to disable him. This applies especially in case of young children, whose minds are like wet cement. The diagnosis may become disease. A child may often live up to his parent or teacher's negative prediction.

But that's not all.

What do you do when feel you're target of verbal abuse? Normally, you answer back. You give as good as you get. But what if you're powerless to defend yourself against one who insults or belittles you? At very least, you'd try to immunize yourself against any further verbal barbs and stings. You'd begin to seal off your mind.

Labeling, or any kind of negative name-calling, is not only a way to make personal enemies. It is one of deadliest enemies of communication itself. Through it - and I am choosing my words carefully - parents or teachers could lose their children forever.

We want to place our children in at atmosphere in which learning can thrive and creativity can flourish. We want them to prepare themselves for mature and responsible adulthood. We dare not shut door in their faces.

"Fine," you might say, "but how do we do things right way?"

It's a complex subject, but here's a simple illustration to keep you going.

In best of schools, it sometimes happens that two classmates insist on striking up a conversation precisely when their teacher needs their undivided attention - for example, when he is about to assign homework. Here are two short sound bytes from two different schools.

Teacher A: "Shut up - or else! You guys belong in a reformatory."

Teacher B; "I need to assign homework now. I cannot do it unless there is absolute quiet!"

Who is more effective communicator? You be judge!

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Copyright © 2004 Azriel Winnett

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