“Mama And . . . Gift Wrapping” December 2025 Prompt

I spoke with my sister earlier this week and she told me she had spent four hours wrapping presents. Needless to say, she was exhausted. This got me thinking about when I will complete my own mammoth job, and that thought alone tired me. 

For many mothers, the task of wrapping gifts is, in reality, a greatly anticipated time to escape the mayhem of December festivities. Who hasn’t used the excuse of sorting out presents to hide in a locked bedroom, sitting quietly among rolls of paper and ribbons, away from the craziness of Christmas for a short while? 

Still, in literature, film, and media, we’re usually shown the lavishness of presents and how they might be wrapped. Consider the Selfridges scene from the Christmas movie Love Actually, in which Rowan Atkinson’s character, Rufus, puts on a magnificent show as he slowly wraps the jewelry box that symbolizes Harry’s (Alan Rickman’s) infidelity. The wrapping includes rose petals, lavender scent, a cinnamon stick, holly and berries, and the painstaking tying of beautiful ribbons and bows for added extravagance.

This month we’re inviting writers to explore motherhood and the ways we build anticipation, show care, and add emotional value through the way we wrap our gifts. 

How to Participate:

Share your contribution in the Comments below, on Instagram with the hashtag #MamaAnd, tagging us @literary_mama, or Bluesky @literarymama.bsky.social. The prompt will be active all month.

Contributions are only limited by what can be shared on Instagram or Bluesky, and may be posts, captions, images, stories, or videos.

If participants DO NOT want their contributions to be reposted or highlighted by Literary Mama, please note so in your post or message Literary Mama directly.