Wish letters and shoebox wishes

‘Dear Me’ – Wish letters

Like Thérèse Perrault did, ask your students to write a letter, not to Santa, but to themselves, describing a wish that they would like to see come true. Ideally, this should be a wish that does not involve a purchase. Thérèse painfully wished that she could receive news of her brother who was overseas in war-torn Europe.

Your students may not have family members serving in the military, but it can be a wish for their family, themselves, their school, a friend, someone in another country, or even a wish for world peace.

At Christmas time, have your students write a ‘Dear Me’ letter to themselves. Then collect all of the letters and keep them until June in order to return them to your students before the end of the school year.

Have a group discussion to see how the students feel six months later about their wishes. Did their wishes come true? If not, is there a chance they might come true? Is there something they could do to help their wishes come true? (For example, be a peaceful person, be a non-violent person, be a friend, etc.)

Shoebox wishes

Just like Thérèse Perrault, who wished that Santa would give a doll to a little girl in war-torn Europe, ask your students to give wishes to their classmates.

Ask your students to write a wish for each of their classmates. Teachers are encouraged to do the same!

Each person should have a shoebox for the wishes they will receive. Before receiving their wishes, students can wrap their shoeboxes so they look like a Christmas gift. Remember to leave a hole on the top for the wishes to go in. At the end of the activity, they will each get to open up a present of personal wishes!

Wishes should be positive, such as:

• have a nice day;
• feel better soon;
• good luck in your test;
• I hope you do well in the school event or play;
• have a happy holiday.

Students could also write wishes without adding their names, thereby making it a ‘Secret Santa’ activity.

Teachers are advised to review the content of the wishes before the students open their boxes to ensure that all the wishes are positive. Happy Holidays!