“At Christmas play and make good cheer, For Christmas comes but once a year.” -Thomas Tusser
OK. Thanksgiving was wonderful, visiting with family and sharing
fun stories and adventures; laughing around the dining room
table, enjoying favorite stuffing and pies; watching parades and
football games; and counting your many blessings.
It is now time to turn our attention to the many preparations for Christmas. Coming from a Christian perspective, I can speak for the anticipation which we all feel to celebrate the birth of the Christ-child. It brings us wonder each and every year, and the time and energy we put into its celebration never wanes. As I watch my Jewish friends prepare for Hanukkah, I sense, too, the joy with which they prepare celebrations with loved ones.
The gift of sacrificial love is the true essence of Christmas.
Teaching your children to give generously and to give cheerfully
models the life of Christ. Our God, who created each one of us
with more love than we can imagine, desires this same outpouring
of love to others, and it is at Christmas that we likewise share
our love through gift-giving and through acts of generosity and
hospitality. We are buoyed by the “Christmas spirit” because it
is through giving–rather than receiving–that we receive the
most joy. Pausing to think about others, about their needs and
desires, and extending yourselves to their benefit, brings deep
inner satisfaction not found any other way.
Have you made your list of those people with whom you want to
share the Christmas spirit?
Consider giving small, inexpensive gifts to a large list, rather than more extravagant gifts to a very few loved ones.
When Ithink of the model of giving I want to pattern for my own family, I cannot exclude from the list those folks who cross my path on a daily basis–in one way or another–who may or may not have yet reached into close friendship with me. And so I am always thoughtful for small yet kind ways in which I might extend generosity.
Extend your circle of concern.
Think not only of what members of your own family would appreciate at Christmas. Think of cousins and aunts and uncles, and of closest friends. And don’t stop there. Extend your circle. Think of your mail carrier, pet groomer, your pediatrician’s office staff, the folks at your gym, your neighbors, friends of your children, office workers at you
or your spouse’s place of work, your manicurist, the
landscaper….think through the flow of your typical week and
those people who enter your life on a regular basis. If they are
serving you in some capacity, isn’t it kind to remember them now?
Many people refrain from practicing generosity to those outside
their small circle of concern because of the lack of money with
which to do so. But inexpensive gifts can be handmade for pennies if we will only stretch our imaginations and put our hands–and those of our children–to good use.
Look to nature and to materials right outside your front door
Free for the asking and the picking: a fresh bouquet of greens–
evergreens, magnolia leaves, and berries, tied with a gorgeous
silk ribbon–would be cherished by any receiver.
Tiny bird nest ornaments fashioned from Spanish moss, filled with speckled beans and a silk butterfly, and with a wooden clothespin glued from underneath, make delightful gifts for children and adults alike. My own tree is filled with them.
Collect pinecones and make an arrangement with them. Your
thoughtfulness will be appreciated and it will have cost nothing
more than a walk in the woods.
Homemade candies or cookies wrapped in inexpensive cellophane
bags look elegant tied with ribbon and make perfect gifts for
virtually anyone on your list.
Miniature baskets filled with one tiny, simple gift, are perfect for your children’s friends.
Remember: children love exaggeration; anything diminutive (or enormous!) appeals to their sense of wonder.
Homemade “snow globes” make our list every single year
Simply use a baby food or other small jar and fill it with water and a small bit of glycerin (found at your local drug store) and white glitter; add a few plastic toys–Lego’s, Barbie doll shoes, jacks and balls, plastic bugs–and then squeeze a think line of silicone sealant around the lid before screwing it on to prevent leakage.
Homemade glycerin soaps filled with tiny plastic toys are
adorable
They’ll delight your children as well, for they’ll have created happy memories making them with you for all of their friends.
Consider making homemade wrapping paper or handmade gift tags.
I buy inexpensive tags at office supply stores by the hundreds.
They cost about a penny apiece. I also use twine instead of
expensive ribbon. One bolt lasts several years and costs a couple of dollars.
And mail those out-of-state gifts early to avoid long lines at
the post office as well as the extra expense of priority mail.
Model a generous life…at Christmas and throughout the year.
Give faithfully and give cheerfully. You will be blessed
beyond measure.
Carolina Fernandez earned an M.B.A. and worked at IBM and as a stockbroker at Merrill Lynch before coming home to work as a wife and mother of four. She totally re-invented herself along the way. Strong convictions were born about the role of the arts in child development; ten years of homeschooling and raising four kids provide fertile soil for devising creative parenting strategies. These are played out in ROCKET MOM! 7 Strategies To Blast You Into Brilliance. It is widely available online, in bookstores or through 888-476-2493. She writes extensively for a variety of parenting resources and teaches other moms via seminars, workshops, keynotes and monthly meetings of the ROCKET MOM SOCIETY, a sisterhood group she launched to “encourage, equip and empower moms for excellence.” Please visit http://www.rocketmom.com
