There’s always a warm glow in the air whenever Christmas season comes around. The radio starts playing our favorite holiday hits, everyone is in a merry spirit and looking forward to time off from work to relax and enjoy time with loved ones. This joyful Christmas spirit starts early December and usually lasts until a week and a half into the month before people transform into mass crazed shoppers bent on endless and senseless trips to the mall.
Then, the merry Christmas spirit is quickly squashed under our never-ending lists of gifts and material items to acquire in time for the holidays. We want to give “things” to the people we care about during Christmas because it’s supposed to represent how much these friends and family mean to us. Sadly, the holiday love often gets lost or forgotten when we max out our credit cards and collect growing debt – ironically in the name of being a good person and showing love to others. We feel good about it… yet it’s fleeting because then we feel uncomfortable with our debt and the brief duration of satisfaction we get from material gift-giving.
This year, make a positive change. Give gifts from the heart that your recipients will love and in turn will bring you a personal sense of fulfillment:
1. Go home for Christmas – Seems obvious, but for some people this is more an obligation than a desire. Don’t just spend a couple days rushing to your family’s annual Christmas dinner and leaving just as fast. Plan to stay a week or as long as you can to truly enjoy time together as a family. Plan events and things to do together when you’re home and remind yourself of why the holidays are wonderful. The same applies for extended family, even if they’re a bit out of the way, making the drive is sure to warm their hearts.
2. Make your Mom and Dad feel special – On top of spending time with them, write a poem or letter about how much they mean to you and reflect on what they’ve given you over the years. Your words and thoughts are sure to mean infinitely more than any material gift ever could convey.
3. Plan a dinner or potluck with friends – Instead of a gift exchange where you need to buy 4+ different presents for your group of close friends, consider organizing a group dinner and agreeing that your gifts will be enjoying each other’s company. Everyone can bring something special and make it a potluck. Then you have the whole evening to spend time together and have fun.
Wonderful green Christmas gifts
4. Giving to Mother Earth with recyclable presents – Create gifts out of used, recyclable and natural materials. You’d be amazed at what kind of impressive and custom-designed creations you can come up with. It might be quicker to pick up a gift from the store, but these presents come with a tag that says that the recipient is special enough for you to spend some TLC on. Refer to this very useful site to learn how to make your own stuff.
5. Bake cookies for your community – For all the assortment of special and important people in your life (like the mailman, your co-workers, teachers, etc) consider putting your appreciation into a sweet edible form. It’s easy to take these important people for granted in day-to-day living, so take time now to thank them and give them a special treat.
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