Christmas Giving

Every family goes through some adjustments as they grow in size and Christmas can highlight those differences in unique ways. My older and younger sisters are ten years apart. My daughter, a niece, and a nephew are each ten years apart from them and each other. So we've always had at least one young child at my parents' house that seemed to help keep the Christmas spirit fun and playful. As our family grew in size we started getting more deliberate about who we bought presents for and we've tried some different exchanges. Generally we all give presents to the kids and then worked out some sort of list for us and our spouses. We tried out some different things; some smooth, some not so smooth. One year the talk about spending limits and the ease of gift cards made me think it would just be easier to all show up with a handful of cash, stand in a circle, hand the cash to the person at our left and call it done. That helped bring us back to a more personal exchange.
My Dad's answer to inquiries about what he wants are assurances that he doesn't need anything. I think that's a pretty accurate assessment for most of us. I've determined that I could probably never buy another article of clothing and be OK, but some of my family are a bit more fashion conscious. So I can pretty much count on a new shirt or two most years. We've started making donations as gifts for some. Not necessarily to charities that we are personally connected to, but something of interest to the person for whom we make the donation. That creates the sense of personal connection to go along with the stewardship of giving in response to needs.
In honor of my grandmother, there are some in my extended family that are making donations to the nursing home that cared for her or getting gifts for residents we got to know while visiting her. What giving should be about is caring enough to put some extra effort to connect in some deeper way. If you ask a young child (or someone older who is pretty materialistic) about Christmas you may get a list of stuff that can be bought. If you ask someone who has lost a person they love, whether through death, disagreement, or just distance, you are likely to hear about shared memories and the importance of spending time together.
The birth of Jesus began a new era. God could have easily gifted us with overt power or plenty of possessions. What we were given instead, was the unlimited power of relationship. Jesus modeled and taught what an incredible difference that can make in each of our lives. If we will simply put the needs of others before our own, we all end up taking care of each other and no one gets left behind. There is more than enough stuff to go around. Time and caring enough to make an effort is what it takes to make sure we are all blessed. This is right season to make a difference.

Be Blessed!
Michael