1/2 Christmas

I just thought I'd take this opportunity and remind you all that Christmas is coming!! I caught myself humming Jingle Bells to the baby this afternoon - mostly because after humming at her for over an hour to keep her from fussing, I was running out of songs.

And now back to Christmas.

Christmas is my least-favorite, favorite holiday. It's not the lies we tell our children about Santa Claus, or the snow that keeps my husband out plowing all hours of the night, or even the 10 pounds I gain from cookies & cocoa. No, it's the gifts. That's right, the gifts ruin Christmas. 

Think about it; you might agree with me.

From about mid-October through the end of the year otherwise happy and contented people suddenly become dissatisfied with their possessions and start wanting more, newer, better things. Thank you, Advertising Industry. We're making lists, checking prices, and comparing ideas with friends and family. Then we try to stop focusing on ourselves long enough to buy a gift or five for Spouse, Sons and Daughters Moms and Dads, Sisters, Brothers, Grandmas, Grandpas, Uncles, Aunts, Cousins, Friends, Teachers, Preachers, Coaches, Mailmen (or women), Baristas... need I go on? So basically by now you're either broke or the shamed winner of more than a few awards for giving the lamest gift this year.

Gifting is the worst. I don't know how it got included as a Love Language. If it's your major love language, I am so so sorry. You must feel like I don't love you a bit! Thankfully, it scored dead last for both my husband and I. We've gotten each other a gift for Christmas and Birthday exactly one time - when we were dating - and we like it that way. 

Giving a gift is stressful. A good gift-giver can select the perfect item that you've been wanting but wouldn't buy for yourself and have barely whispered about. They don't need a list or ideas. They don't call your Mom for hints. This perfect item also falls within the perfect cost bracket - not embarrassingly cheap or awkwardly expensive. Somehow, they know what you already have and easily avoid giving you a duplicate. And when you smile and thank them, they are so gracious. They don't sluff it off like it was nothing, nor do they go into detail about how much they sacrificed to get it for you. They make you feel noticed, special, and cared about. I don't know that I've ever accomplished any of that in a single gift.

Obviously the perfect gift

Receiving a gift is stressful. How awkward is it to open up a package and be genuinely pleased with whatever it contains! Don't think about whether it's the right flavor, size or color, where you'll put it, how you'll use it, or who you can give it to. If you think about any of that, it'll flash across your face and the gift-giver will know. Don't make your "Thanks" too big or too small. Or too practiced. I am the most awkward gift receiver. Please don't make me open gifts in front of you, and please wait to open gifts I give you (and consider yourself super lucky to have gotten a gift at all!).

How I'm pretty sure I look every time I receive a gift

Recently I've been reading a lot about minimalism. If you don't know what it is, go look it up. There are a bunch of great blogs and books about it. I think minimalism is the solution to Christmas. 

Imagine a Christmas where you weren't stressed about what to get Great Aunt Sally. You don't have to spend hours in check out lines. You don't have to empty your life savings to afford gifts for everyone you know. Afterwards, you don't have to find places to put all your new loot. You don't have to make multiple trips to various stores to figure out where the heck Great Aunt Sally bought that hideous vest. Imagine spending all that extra, stress-free time with family and friends. Imagine feeling full of love, peace, and joy (and cookies) rather than uncomfortably full of material goods.

Now doesn't that sound nice?

I'm hoping that for our daughter's first Christmas we can start a new tradition and figure out how to teach her that Christmas is about celebrating Jesus' gift to us. It's about giving our time and our love to others, like He did. Some ideas here.

**If you're a gift-giver, please don't feel offended. Theses are just my own feelings - I don't think gift-giving is wrong or bad! I do enjoy giving/receiving gifts on occasion. Very limited occasion. Very unconventional gifts. But still...