No More Gifts!

As I sit to breakfast of two home laid fried eggs sprinkled with parmesan and a cup of decaffeinated vanilla ice coffee I can't help but notice the myriad of posts centered around the theme of "giving less".
OK I understand, I grew up in a time where my Christmas stocking was filled with an orange, some walnuts or almonds still in their shells and maybe a pretty thing and a candy cane. We weren't dirt poor but we were certainly earthy!
Our Christmas gifts came from Grandparents who survived the depression, did things homemade and loved each of their many grandkids. From parents who worked hard manual labor, saved and also made handmade when they could. Santa was around but he never got any credit for my family's hard work. I dreamed of the pony in the backyard on Christmas morning but always woke to gifts and food and family and I don't remember feeling like I missed out.

Now as a parent I love the opportunity to get gifts for my children, to work out what they might like. Do I overspend on the budget? Sometimes. Do I fail the "It's just what I wanted" test? Repeatedly. Do I stress about what to get for who? Sometimes, OK most times.
But in "Blogworld"  I see posts that suggest the 'perfect' Christmas contains three gifts per child. Makes me glad I only had two of the little suckers! Imagine a family with nine. Nine times three is...?

But it's so biblical... one to represent each of the wise men's gifts - Gold (something precious), frankincense (something for worship - NO, not One Direction type worship.) and Myrrh (something for the body). So there were three gifts (not necessarily three givers) how much gold, frankincense and myrrh did they give? Was it wrapped? How much did they spend?

Then there are the four gift givers. Something they want, something they need, something to wear and something to read. Very poetic, I like that...now for the practical application - my son wants an Iphone, the latest of course, he doesn't need anything because he has all his needs provided, something to wear (isn't that one of his needs) this one smacks of my mummy desire to ensure everyone is wearing my choice on Christmas Day, and then something to read - this must be my Mummyfail. Neither of my boys like/enjoy reading. I guess I would have to buy them a DVD.

Then mix it up with the "gift from Santa" to keep the magic of Christmas alive! pffft. Apologies but Christmas isn't 'magical' . Go your hardest but no parent can conjure up a Christmas miracle, the beauty of Christmas is that the miracle has happened and as a parent I can point them to the wonder of that miracle!
And finally a gift for someone in need. This one I like with the proviso that this is a habit of a lifetime not an every Christmas conscience easer.

When I think of Christmas giving I have decided that I want to focus on the gift of Christmas. God gave out of all His abundance and wealth the most precious of gifts. Something that we needed desperately, couldn't ever hope to afford and never even knew we needed. God extended Himself extravagantly in love and faces daily rejection of his amazing gift. It is undervalued, trivialized and thrown back at Him with "I don't want this!" ringing from ungrateful lips. We take the tinsel and the fairy lights to dress up our lack and fail to see the richness and beauty of His sacrifice. So my kids will be given one extravagant gift; something I think they need out of my unconditional love for them, like it or not!

And just in case you think I'm serious... there is a number of gifts for each of my boys under the tree, some they requested, some I thought would be funny or cute or practical. They have not broken the bank or caused us to take out a loan. Some will make them laugh, some they will look at me with the "what were you thinking Mum" face.

It's Christmas - I enjoy the food, the fairy lights, the festivity but I would trade it all to ensure my children are ever grateful to the Christ however they choose to celebrate His birth, death and resurrection.

Merry Christmas and God bless us everyone.