It's that time of year again, deciding, selecting and buying Christmas gifts for family and friends? Or in my case for myself. I will always like my Christmas gift to myself. It will be just right. Santa always gets me the right gift for myself. But isn't Christmas time for giving? Yes, it is. And I will also give more than I receive, as it should be.
Real Christmas gifts often seem to get lost in the piles of wrappings and ribbons. Shopping has become a task with a hassle. I hate gift cards. They say a lot about the time and thought that went into the gift buying process. It's too easy. Requires no thought. You can rationalize that the person gets what he or she wants. That's true, but it also says I don't have time.
True giving requires thought. True giving requires paying attention. It also doesn't mean spending too much to impress, or answering every wish on Santa's wish list from your children. Why do babies play more with the packaging than the gift. Because it doesn't take much to make them happy. My friend, Carolina, told me once about her Christmas gifts as a very poor child in Mexico. Her gift might be simply an orange or a pair of socks. And she was thankful.
There is also a question I have ask myself many times, "What do you give a person who has most everything, and if they don't have it, they buy it." Never really found an answer to that.
What was the best Christmas gift you ever got? Mine was my first bike. I think I was about seven or eight. It was just what I wanted,the right make(Monarch) and the right color (maroon). The only thing that kind of upset me was the fact that my brother, who is three years younger, got his bike at the same time. Why did I have to wait three years longer than he did? I guess they really did like him best. I know this was my favorite gift as a kid, because I can remember every minute of that Christmas morning, and the feeling of pure surprise and joy I felt in my heart.
The best gifts are not necessarily the most expensive. They are gifts that say, "I paid attention to what you might like. It is often a gift the person didn't even know they wanted or needed.
The last gift from my son, Mark, was a gift in my name to the Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund in New Jersey, where he lived. That was special because I truly am blessed with an abundant life and this captures a Christmas spirit of giving. That's the type of person Mark was.
However, it was the gift the year before that perhaps meant the most to me. It was something I can touch, feel and think of him every time I use it. It brings a smile and a memory of my Markie.
He text me asking for my address. He said he was sending me a gift that keeps on giving. I looked forward to receiving it in the mail, curious about this son with a great sense of humor would get his old dad. It was a Nose Hair Trimmer with an attachment for the eyebrows as well. At my age you grow hair everyplace except the place you need it. I had often thought about buying one. But my kid made laugh. It required thought and observation.that seemingly silly gift was just as important to me as that bicycle I got as a kid. I smile every time I use it, and I cry when I write about. It was truly a gift that keeps on giving.
Merry Christmas shopping. It is a task of thinking, not necessarily spending
Sammy Carl
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