How about giving them the book version of A Charlie Brown Christmas?
This story is so good and strips away all the hoopla and materialism about Christmas and gets back to “what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.” To this day, I always get teary-eyed when Linus recites the Christmas story straight out of the Gospel of St. Luke–it’s equally good reading it out of book as watching it on TV.
And yet the book is not “preachy” or a blatant evangelism tool. It’s part of our history in the United States, and no one, except maybe those who are rabidly anti-Christian, should be offended or upset at receiving it for a gift. It’s one of those books that a lot of people leave out on the coffee table during the holiday season.
It’s a short little book, and I’m guessing that your loved ones will pick it up and read while they’re waiting for their toast to brown or sitting on hold with their insurance agent. And the Holy Spirit will use the book to help them find their way to Jesus.
If you really want to get some smiles and a hearty thank you, give them the book and also a plate of cookies and/or packets of hot chocolate, hot tea, or some other beverage that you know they will like.
