The Christmas pickle is said to have been a long tradition in Germany. However, many Germans have never heard of this tradition. There are many folklores on how this tradition started. It might just be a gimmick sold to Americans looking for another crazy tradition. But hey, we Americans like our crazy traditions, so why not! And this is an easy one with little to no effort. We started this tradition with our girls several years ago. Even now as adults they still want to find the pickle on Christmas morning. This year I thought it'd be fun to share our tradition with ours neighbors. They would also make great co-worker or teacher gifts. You can buy sets already made for around $10ish (Amazon Link). I was able to find a set of nice glass blown ornaments between $1-$2 a piece on Amazon click here). They come in sets of 10 or 20. Only downside you need to make your own card and giftwrap. We usually spend around that much for our neighbor gifts. We have a bunch of neighbors we include in our gift giving. It's just something to say hey you're important to us, and we care about you. We try not to spend too much, because that's not what Christmas is about. We do however, always try to put a little extra effort in the meaning behind the gift. The message is what Christmas is about. So, we thought we'd share our idea for a great gift this year.
I designed a little note card to go inside a clear gift bag (Amazon Link), added a bit of shredded gift paper (Amazon Link), and a pickle colored bow (Amazon Link) on top. There are many ways to play this traditional pickle ornament game. On the backside of the card we included what the pickle meant to us and a few different ways to play the game. For our family, we play that the first person to find the pickle gets to open the first present. Another way to play, is that the first person to find the pickle gets a special gift under the tree meant for the pickle winner. Which would also be the first gift opened. It would be fun to maybe wrap the presents in pickle wrapping paper, or have the gift be pickle oriented. There are so many pickle gag gifts out there. Last year, for a white elephant gift, my brother and sister in law gave pickle popsicles. They were a huge hit. My girls would just love a giant jar of pickles, they are a favorite snack in our home. I always try to include the year on the card for our family and friends that like to keep them.
We decided to leave the ornament wrapped in the bubble wrap it was shipped in to help protect it. Many times the gift is left on the doorstep, and we wanted to protect it as best as possible. It is a bit uglier though to look at.
Have fun with it and make it your own!
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We also used this as our Easter theme last year, BIG hit!
Be sure to look around our blog, we have tons of out of the box games and ideas!
