Dear Christmas,
You are right around the corner. While we love you and are counting down the days until you arrive, we always seem to get caught up in the hustle & bustle. Sometimes we lose sight of your true meaning come December. Perhaps I can work hard to plan now so that our focus will be on the gift of baby Jesus and not on buying presents for our loved ones. Thank you for being the most wonderful time of the year. I want to savor every glittering light, special cookie, dazzling tree, choo-choo train, gift of service, lit candle and sacred Christmas carol this year.
All my love and devotion,
*laura*
Here is some content that I have posted before. I hope it inspires you to get going on those gifts so that you can enjoy the holiday season as well. Our goal (for Christmas & birthdays throughout the year) is to give gifts that express our love but also make less of an impact on landfills and clutter in our homes. This is not always possible and yes I know that some people find this impersonal but let’s be honest for a minute. How many gifts do we get every year that just fill up our home with more stuff? Not that stuff is bad (we Americans love stuff) but with the exception of a few things…here or there…I for one really do not need more of it!
So here we go with a few ideas:
*Consumable Gift Ideas*
*CERTIFICATE for TIME SPENT
*CERTIFICATE for A HOMEMADE MEAL
*CERTIFICATE for a SPECIAL TRIP
*HOMEMADE FOOD (such as jams, breads, nuts, cookies)
*CERTIFICATE for a SPECIAL CLASS (such as cooking, sewing, dance class or swim lessons)
*GIFT CARD (for meals, clothing/grocery stores, movies, spa treatments, events or even flowers)
*GOURMET GIFT BASKETS (chocolate treats for a chocoholic or for a friend with a special diet like
celiac you could group together specialty gluten-free products)
*For KIDS: Bubbles, Chalk, Art Supplies, Stickers (one can rarely have enough of these things)
***
*Giving Back Gift Ideas*
*Have you heard about
Operation Christmas Child from Samaritans Purse? Click on the link to check it out and look-up how it works and where you can drop off your box this year! Hurry because the deadline to drop off your box is in a few weeks. Our MOPS group is doing it this year as a fun way to give back and get our kids involved. Maybe even consider giving a box in place of a gift for a family you know and on Christmas present them with a description of why you have a box in their name and a picture of what you put in the box and where it went.
***
*Do you know about
LOVE146 yet? Their mission is to END CHILD SEX SLAVERY AND EXPLOITATION. I learned about this organization at Blog Sugar and have not been able to get it off my mind. Items can be purchased in their store as gifts (most of the money goes back to their organization). Check it out and
be ready to grab a tissue for this one.
***
*And of course you can give to
Compassion right now. Year Round: Compassion is an organization that allows you to sponsor children all over the world in order to help them with basic physical (and spiritual) needs. You pay a monthly fee and are able to write letters back and forth and give extra money for their birthday’s and Christmas if you can. We have really enjoyed doing this and wanted to spread the word! Check them out if you are considering a new way to give-back this year! And one more thought…if you have a baby or small child and are not sure what to get them for Christmas (because after all they are a baby and have no idea what is going on) consider looking up a Compassion child to sponsor by the birthday and gender of your child. We did this for both the kids for their “Baby’s 1st Christmas” gift and it has been fun watching other children grow up with their birthdays (even though they are not their age)! It’s a nice way to have something in common with these beautiful children all over the world. Just something to consider as you make your lists!
This post was originally posted on 10/24/2013 & has been edited for clarity.
Here is some content that I have posted before. I hope it inspires you to get going on those gifts so that you can enjoy the holiday season as well. Our goal (for Christmas & birthdays throughout the year) is to give gifts that express our love but also make less of an impact on landfills and clutter in our homes. This is not always possible and yes I know that some people find this impersonal but let’s be honest for a minute. How many gifts do we get every year that just fill up our home with more stuff? Not that stuff is bad (we Americans love stuff) but with the exception of a few things…here or there…I for one really do not need more of it!
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