No Gift Wrap Required

Two days before Samantha's birthday and I was scouring the mall for an appropriate gift. Would she want an Elmo? A book? A dress? Since she was turning 1, I suspected she couldn't care less. Wrapping paper and a sugary cupcake would do just fine, thank you.

While strolling through a card shop, the idea hit me: I'm a writer, so why not write her a letter, something that was all about her? That's when I rushed home and penned the first annual birthday letter.

Since then, I've written birthday letters every year for my girls. I write about Samantha's amazing verbal skills, her finicky palate and her love of the Beatles. I document Annie's quirky sense of humor, her love of Disney movies and her passion for noodles. I gush effusively about how much Jeff and I love them. Then I seal each letter in an envelope marked with the birthday girl's name and age on it, and store them all in a box of special keepsakes.

What began as an alternative to meaningless gifts has become a private tradition, one that gives me a chance to reflect on my girls and how they've grown and yet essentially remained the same. It's a chance to capture all the things they experienced in the past year. Mostly, it's an opportunity to tell them in writing how much they mean to us.

Funny thing is, the girls know nothing about this ritual — they don't even know that these letters exist. I'm not sure when I'll tell them. Perhaps it will be during a bout of teenage angst when they question what I've ever done for them, and I thrust out the letters as proof of how much I've always cared. Maybe it will be when they turn 16 and start driving, so they know to drive carefully because someone is waiting for their safe return. Or perhaps it will be just before they go to college, so they can go off into the world knowing just how much they're loved.

One thing I do know for sure is that as soon as they know the letters exist, my daughters will want to read them. And I have a feeling they'll appreciate them a lot more than another talking Elmo doll.