In seminary we had a parables gift exchange. The only guidelines were that the gift couldn't be too expensive, less than $3 or something brought from home, and that they had to think of a parable to go along with what they brought.
We had a fun time opening the random stuff they brought. 4 kids forgot to bring something, so I was glad I had been prompted to bring extra presents. I brought 3 and then randomly wrapped up a box of snacks that I had brought to share. We had several presents wrapped in scratch paper from the library, but despite the minor hurdles, it went really well.
Hand sanitizer #1 - Jesus cleansed the lepers and some of them expressed their gratitude for what he did for them. When we clean our hands with the hand sanitizer, we should think of being grateful for all Jesus does for us.
Hand sanitizer #2 - Hand sanitizer cleans our hands and gets rid of the germs just like repentance cleans us from sin.
Pencil sharpener - When your pencil is dull, you sharpen it so you can draw pictures and use them to #lighttheworld.
Beanie hat - When you wear the hat, it protects your head from the cold and rain. When we have faith in Christ, he can protect us from the bad things in the world.
Penny - the penny is like the widow's mite and can remind us that every gift we give is important to the Lord
Unlit candle - the candle has the potential to make light, but there were no matches. If we want to light the world, we need the right tools.
Glasses cleaner - The glasses cleaner gets the dirt off your lenses so you can see, just like repentance can get rid of the effects of sin.
Soap - Sometimes people buy pretty soap and put it in the bathroom to look at. Sometimes they don't even unwrap it. And it's useless that way. The gospel sounds pretty great, but if we don't use it in our lives, it is pretty useless for us.
Mints - Mints make your breath nice like the gospel makes things better. Alternate parable - mints make your breath smell good, but they don't take care of the problems in your mouth. For that, you need to brush your teeth. When there is sin in our lives, we need to take care of the actual problem, not just do things to cover it up.
Pocky sticks - The biscuit stick is pretty good by itself, but when you dip it in chocolate, it is really yummy. Our lives can be pretty good, but when we have the gospel they are even better. Also, we can share the gospel with others so their lives can be better too.
Orange - The peel of an orange is gross. You have to take it off so you can get to the good stuff inside. We have things in our lives that we need to get rid of so we can become better people.
Can of mandarin oranges - Mandarin oranges are really yummy, but not that nutritious on their own. But when you put them in a salad, you have all the ingredients together making it really good for you. If you take individual parts of the gospel, like baptism, or going to church on Sunday, they are not going to do enough for you on their own, but when you do all the stuff, you are blessed.
Sugar cubes - You put a sugar cube in something to make it sweet. Sometimes life is hard and when you turn to Jesus, he can help make it sweet for you.
Remote control - You use the remote control to make the projector work and it shows you lots of infomation. The gospel shows us what is right and helps us know way to go.
