~A Practically Perfect Christmas~
One thing we do at Christmas to enjoy happy gift giving and receiving is to limit the gifts we give to our children to 3 gifts per child. We figure if the Lord Jesus received three, this is perfectly acceptable for our children. It has the added benefit of reminding them of the reason they receive gifts. We organize it similarly to the Christmas story, with each child getting a gold, frankincense and myrrh gift. Each child also gets a stocking with basic needs (tooth brushes, crayons, undies, fun handmade items and other goodies).
So, obviously, we don’t literally give them gold… here is how it works in our home.
Gold ~ is a present they desire (like a toy or something they want badly)
Frankincense ~ is something they need (like boots or a warm coat,)
Myrrh ~ is something to help them grow as a person or in the Lord (a Bible, a book, funding or supplies for a mission trip, or practically an alarm clock to help them get up on time). We have also considered making this a gift they pick out and give to help someone in need… like a Worldvision gift… but will probably do this once they get a bit older.
Now that said, we aren’t Scrooges; we’ve just found that this is WAY MORE than enough for us… as our children get lots of gifts from other family as well. We’ve even wondered if going down to just a stocking would be a better fit for us.
A friend was telling me last night about one of her more memorable Christmas's as a child. Her parents and siblings went out and did Project Christmas Child... you know, with the shoe boxes. Her parents allowed them to fill it for a child in need and then told them they would be receiving just a shoe box for their entire Christmas gift as well.
Personally I know all of my childhood's Christmas's were heavily centered around gift giving, high expectations and also disappointment. More and more I realize the more we are given the more I desire less. How can we make "Less, More?"
How do you do gift giving in your home?
How do you deal with the sullen selfishness that can come after Christmas or when a child’s expectations aren’t met at Christmas?
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