The Top 10 Best Christmas Gifts for Missionaries
Hands down, keeping it personal is key! Missionaries appreciate the small things from home. Whether it is updated pictures of the family or a collection of letters from friends and ward members, hearing from loved ones is as good as it gets!
LDS Daily suggests turning to social media to gather heartwarming notes! Post a status on your Missionary’s Facebook page asking for a quick hello or letter. Copy and paste the statuses into an email for your Missionary or, better yet, print them out and send them in the mail.
Make your own small Family Scrapbook. We made one using a Bo Bunny Misc. Me 3-ring binder in their ‘Elf Magic’ series. Since it was a Christmas binder – it was already partially decorated. Size: Approx. 8″X9″. Cost $7.00-$9.00. Add in your own thoughts, quotes, scriptures, family photos, photos of their companions or of their mission, then have family members sign Christmas notes to them throughout the book. You could do the same thing using any small book of your choice. Simple Stories is another company that has two chipboard books (6X8″) in their Snap design series in either Striped Holiday or Merry Holiday.
Create A Mini Book
Create a Mini Book Album using the We R Memory Keepers Envelope Punch Board. You don’t necessarily need the Envelope Maker – but it is super slick and easy to create this mini album if you have one. The cost is approx. $14. Using any scrapbook paper of your choice you just punch and score – the directions are even printed right on the punch board! The 2-way envelope punch creates fold tabs and round corners. It is easy to create envelopes in dozens of sizes in which you can then turn them into a mini book album. The book we made was approx. 4″X6″ in size when finished. Here is a YouTube Video showing how easy it is to create one of these little cuties! The overall cost would depend on which paper you choose, ribbon, and the stickers you add.
Create A Themed Christmas Care Package
A ‘Christ Centered Christmas’ Care Package that includes a Missionary Nativity Activity and also a 12-Days of Keeping Christ in Christmas Music, Scripture, and Story Activity. A ’12-Days of Christmas Countdown’ Care Package that includes small gifts, thoughts, and scriptures for your Missionary to open for the 12 days leading up to Christmas.
Have Faith! Have Fun! Send Love with a Missionary Box!
Food
It’s no surprise that food gifts made it high on our list of the best missionary gifts for Christmas. Not only is it sure to bring a smile, but your missionary also won’t have to worry about carrying it around transfer after transfer. Send your Missionary their favorite candies and non-perishable food items. This is a great idea for Missionaries serving in foreign countries who do not have access to beloved cereals, spreads, and more.
(Just make sure to check the banned items list for your Missionary’s country before you pack your box. Some countries don’t allow homemade food items or food items like Beef Jerky, Cheese Products, and some like Bolivia will not allow Candy.)
Music
Save your missionary from six months of the same CD by refreshing their music collection. Multiple LDS artists have produced albums specifically with missionaries in mind plus a few that are always uplifting:
- Set Apart by BYU Men’s Chorus
- Sisters of Zion: Sister Missionary Collection
- The Missionary Collection: Mormon Tabernacle Choir
- The Work: A Nashville Tribute to Missionaries
- O Holy Night – Nathan Pacheco
- Merry – A Nashville Tribute to Christmas
- Sing Thy Grace – Eclipse
- I Still Believe – Joshua Creek
- Sweet Redeemer – City of Enoch
- Hallelujah – Mormon Tabernacle Choir
Listen only to music that is consistent with the sacred spirit of your calling. Music should invite the Spirit, help you focus on the work, and direct your thoughts and feelings to the Savior. Do not listen to music that pulls your thoughts away from your work, merely entertains, has romantic lyrics or overtones, or dulls your spiritual sensitivity by its tempo, beat, loudness, lyrics, or intensity. Listening to music must never interfere with your personal preparation or proselyting.
Basic Necesssities
Missionaries are always in need of some basic necessities. Most are easy to ship, cost-effective, and will be used consistently. One thing Missionaries in Brazil always request is Deoderant! Missionaries in Spain liked toothpaste from home. Ask your missionary for his or her requests – but here are some ideas:
- Soaps and other bathroom supplies
- Sticky Notes
- A Teflon pan with a non-stick spatula
- Gift Cards or Money put into their Missionary bank account
- Razors and Shaving Supplies
- Socks, Tights, Shoe Polish Kits
- Sewing Kits
- New Pillow Case
- Missionary Minky Blanket
You could also do a fun personalized pillow case – check out these adorable personalized reindeer pillow cases from MamaSewsBest12.
One mother recommends laundry supplies: “I think that an iron and a white cotton cloth is perfect, so that they can keep creases on their pants, tell your missionary to put the white cotton cloth over the pants that they are going to crease, that way their pants don’t get shiny as they iron them.”
Clothing
Elders and Sisters, no matter where they serve, experience lots of wear on their clothes. Send them a new tie, a new blouse, or a fun t-shirt for P-Day.
Many websites sell fun t-shirts that you could include for either a Sister or an Elder. Here are a few examples:
- Real Missionaries Ride Bikes Shirt
- Keep Calm and Knock On
- Plan of Salvation Shirts
- Some Missions Offer Mission Shirts or make your own
- Missionary Aprons
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Festive Decorations
Missionaries don’t have much time to think about decorations, so send a bit of festive cheer! Make your own 7 foot Missionary Paper Christmas Tree out of butcher paper and green hand messages, photo ornaments, and mini tree lights! These paper trees completely fold up into small squares that fit nicely in either a Priority Mail Envelope or Box
You can also hit up the Dollar Tree Store in their Christmas section. The musical light-up Christmas ties are always a fun hit along with reindeer antlers headbands or Santa hats. Bonus: these make for fun photos emailed home!
Or try a Missionary Christmas Tree Poster which comes in two designs – Traditional or Nativity style. (Printed on a 24X36 sheet of high-quality and durable paper, each poster is big and bright!) Cost $15.99 from LDS Bookstore. These posters are a great and affordable way to make sure your Missionary has a Christmas tree. Made of sturdy paper and featuring a bright, large design, your missionaries can place their gifts underneath it without any stress or fuss.
Teaching Supplies
Missionary work is hard. Help make the job easier with these great resources for teaching and studying.
- The Missionary Reference Library
- A New Mission Journal
- Notebooks, Pens, Post-It Notes
- Called to Serve Pens
- Dollar Tree Store Christmas Notepads
- Post-It ‘Note from the Sisters or Elders’
Missionary Stockings
One of a Missionary’s most favorite Christmas gifts just may be the traditional Christmas morning stocking! Remember that some companions may not receive anything at all during the Christmas season – so it’s better to include two! If you are a little bit crafty and have some time – you could make your own or Deseret Book offers two sizes in both Elder and Sister versions in multiple languages.
Reading Material & Stationary
Depending on the rules of your Missionary’s individual Mission they may be allowed to have some extra reading material as long as it is of a spiritual nature and approved by the Mission President.
Missionaries email home most of their letters – but it’s always fun to have some cute stationery to write home letters and thank you notes. Personalized stationery is also a fun option. Check out these on Etsy from PartiesR4fun.
Missionary Support
Perhaps nothing means more to a Missionary than knowing that they are supported in hastening the work. Christmas is a perfect opportunity to give a Book of Mormon as a gift, to have friends in your home while the missionaries are there, and to share the gift of the gospel. There are many ways to do so – that suit your situation and comfort level. You could even invite the Missionaries over on Christmas day to let them use your computer to Skype call home!
For your Missionary out in the field, send them stories of how you’ve been trying to share the gospel back home.
