My two-year-old son is getting a lot of presents this Christmas. Quite a few of these presents are from friends of my wife, who've never actually met my son, or from relatives of mine that live out of state, and whom my son has not yet been introduced to.
We want him to appreciate that idea of a gift, more than just "here's a bunch of new toys to play with". Part of that is, to me, understanding that the person who gave you the gift cares about you, and wants you to be happy, and therefore thought of you to send a gift.
Yet it seems problematic to say "such-and-such that you've never met, and who has never met you, cares about you and wants you to be happy".
What is the best approach to receiving gifts from people like this in such a way as to emphasize the value of the act of giving, over simply receiving presents?