agreed. I don’t buy gifts to impress but to express love to the people I shop for, which is not all that many, due to limited funds. I suppose I would shop more if I could afford it. We always taught our girls that the gift was really Jesus’ gift…but that He delights in seeing the joy on their faces. I tend to shop for unique things that a person would love, but not buy for themselves. Not just a good bargain.I’m one who doesn’t really get sanctimonious about the shopping frenzies. That’s because I think we are so cocooned in our homes, that it is generally good that people are getting out the house and among other people. Going to a mall in the off-season is kinda depressing because it’s like a ghost town.
Several years back our family decided that instead of swapping gifts for the adults each member would make a donation to a charity.I have seen my own family go into some kind of self-destruct mode while chasing down discounted sale items. Yes, Christmas has been, in many ways commercialized, but we must remain prayerful and hopeful during this wonderful season of love. Any experiences with either one?
What a neat idea!When we were raising our children, we always would strive to get “3” gifts for our children to remember the 3 gifts that the wise men brought to Jesus! It helped to focus less on the commercialization of Christmas and more on the true meaning.