Description

Receiving gifts can bring excitement, surprise, disappointment, uncertainty—and sometimes more than one feeling at the same time.

This Receiving Gifts Social Story & Gratitude SEL Toolkit helps children understand what can happen when they receive a gift, notice and manage their feelings, and practice responses that are both honest and kind. Unlike many traditional gift-receiving lessons, this resource does not teach children to hide disappointment, force a smile, or pretend to love a gift. Instead, children learn that their feelings are valid while also building gratitude, perspective-taking, self-regulation, and confident communication skills.

This is a newly updated and significantly expanded edition of the original gift-receiving social story and activity set. The refreshed resource now includes a fully revised social story plus 20+ SEL tools, activities, visuals, discussion resources, practice pages, and family supports for use at school, at home, and in the community.

💡A Different Approach to Teaching Gratitude

Receiving a gift is not always simple.

A child may appreciate that someone thought of them and feel disappointed about what they received.

A child may feel excited and overwhelmed.

A child may need time before they know how they feel.

This resource makes room for those experiences.

Rather than teaching one “correct” reaction, children explore the difference between:

• What I hoped for

• What I actually received

• How I feel about it

• What might help me

• How I would like to respond

Children learn two especially important ideas:

A hope is not a promise.

and

Two feelings can be true.

The goal is not a perfect gift-opening performance. The goal is helping children develop the self-awareness, coping skills, perspective-taking, and communication tools they can use in real situations.

Children Learn to:

• Understand why and when people may give gifts.

• Recognize that gifts may be received at home, school, and in the community.

• Understand that a hope is not a promise.

• Notice thoughts, feelings, and body clues when receiving a gift.

• Recognize feelings such as excitement, happiness, surprise, uncertainty, frustration, and disappointment.

• Understand that more than one feeling can be true at the same time.

• Pause and use calming or coping strategies when needed.

• Recognize another person’s possible thought, effort, or kind action.

• Separate appreciation for the gesture from liking the actual gift.

• Choose responses that are honest and kind.

• Understand that gratitude can look different for different people.

• Communicate appreciation through speech, writing, drawing, gestures, signs, AAC, or other comfortable forms of communication.

• Ask a trusted adult for support when needed.

• Practice these skills across home, school, and community settings.

A Simple Gift-Receiving Framework

Children are introduced to the flexible framework:

HOPE → OPEN → NOTICE → PAUSE → RESPOND

HOPE — I may have an idea about what I hope the gift will be.

OPEN — I find out what I received.

NOTICE — I notice my thoughts and feelings.

PAUSE — I can take a moment if I need one.

RESPOND — I can choose a response that works for me.

These are presented as helpful ideas—not rigid steps or rules. Children may use some or all of them depending on the situation.

What’s Included?

This expanded 85-page social story and SEL resource includes:

• 25-page full-color social story — When I Receive a Gift

• Story-specific adult notes and discussion guide

• Before, during, and after-reading discussion questions

• Real-life practice suggestions for home, school, and community

• 16 Let’s Talk About It! discussion cards

• Feelings & needs discussion cards

• Real-life connection cards

• Problem-solving cards

• Growing Every Day reflection cards

• 8 full-page SEL Skill Spotlight teaching cards

• Receiving a Gift

• A Hope Is Not a Promise

• Two Feelings Can Be True

• Notice How I Feel

• Pause When I Need To

• Honest AND Kind

• Gratitude Can Look Different

• Gratitude Everywhere

• Class Gift-Receiving Pledge

• Student Gift-Receiving Promise

• Gift-Receiving Practice Plan

• Gift-Receiving Practice Mat

• Gift-receiving scenario and reflection activities

• Open-ended imaginary gift practice

• Calm & Confident Gift-Receiving Toolbox

• Social skills poetry connection

• When I Get a Gift poetry poster

• Poetry recitation and movement activity

• Read, Reflect, Grow! response activity

• Skills reminder and challenge cards

• My Social Skills Reader mini-book

• Bringing the Skill Home adult guide

• Parent/family letter

• Family discussion questions

• Family practice and reflection activities

• Take-home poem and family activity

• Color and black-and-white options for selected resources

• Adult implementation and teaching guides

• BONUS narrated social story video

Neurodiversity-Affirming & Child-Centered

This resource does not require children to:

• Smile when opening a gift

• Make eye contact

• Hug the gift giver

• Use an enthusiastic tone of voice

• Respond immediately

• Say “I love it!” when they do not

• Pretend that disappointment is not there

Instead, children are supported in understanding their authentic experience and learning what they can do next.

They may pause.

They may use a calming strategy.

They may communicate in different ways.

They may talk privately with a trusted adult afterward.

They can learn that gratitude and disappointment can exist together.

That makes this resource especially useful for educators and families who want to teach social-emotional skills without asking children to mask their feelings or perform a prescribed social response.

Great For:

• Elementary classrooms

• Special education

• Autism support

• School counseling

• Social skills groups

• SEL lessons

• Homeschool

• Speech and language groups

• Behavior support

• Individual student support

• Morning meeting or circle time

• Small-group instruction

• Family practice

• Birthday preparation

• Holiday gift-giving preparation

• Classroom celebrations and gift exchanges

• Home and community social skills practice

The materials can be used with an individual child, small group, whole class, homeschool lesson, or family.

Helpful Before Real Gift-Giving Events

Use this resource proactively before:

birthdays • holidays • classroom celebrations • gift exchanges • family gatherings • parties • team or club celebrations • community events

Children can preview what might happen, talk about hopes and feelings, choose coping tools, and identify response words that feel comfortable before they are in the moment.

The Practice Mat, Social Skills Reader, reminder cards, and family resources also make it easy to revisit the skill as needed.

For Teachers, Counselors & Homeschool Families

Everything is designed to make explicit SEL instruction easier.

Read the social story to introduce the skill. Use the teaching and discussion cards to explore feelings and perspective. Practice with the mat and realistic scenarios. Reinforce the skill with the toolbox, poem, reader, and reminder cards. Then extend learning through family and community connections.

A suggested lesson sequence is also included, making it easy to use the resource over several days rather than trying to teach gift receiving in one lesson.

This Is a NEWLY UPDATED & EXPANDED Edition

If you purchased the previous version of this resource, this update goes far beyond a simple visual refresh.

The original gift-receiving concept has been substantially rewritten and expanded into a complete SEL toolkit, with updated child-centered language, deeper emotional learning, explicit coping and communication strategies, practice across home/school/community settings, adult guidance, family resources, and many new teaching and practice materials.

The heart of the new edition:

Feelings do not have to be forced or hidden in order to teach gratitude.

Children can learn to understand what they feel, appreciate another person’s perspective, regulate when needed, and communicate in ways that are authentic, honest, and kind.

Growing Every Day 🌱

Receiving gifts is a social-emotional skill that can develop with practice, support, and experience.

We don’t expect a perfect reaction. We celebrate growth.