Christmas Crazy

Are you Christmas crazy yet?

The craziness has been going on for weeks now: special sales, shoppers packing the malls, parades, school plays and concerts, presents to buy—and the list goes on.

Soon last minute panic will set in and some will feel like they really are going crazy.

To make matters worse, some family members even ASK for specific gifts. Then they let it be known they won’t be happy if they don’t receive exactly what they want!

What happened to the joy of giving? Somehow it’s been turned around to the joy of getting. So we stress out trying to get everybody on our list something they will like. We even ask our children, “What do you want for Christmas?”

We do it because we want to be good parents and give them the desires of their heart.

Then we drive ourselves crazy and bust the budget trying to get them everything on their list. We hope for a big smile on Christmas day and an excited, “Thank you, thank you! It’s what I always wanted!” --As if Christmas was just about exchanging gifts.

Well take a break from the stress and think about what you do for just a minute. Why not try something different? Consider the plan one dad came up with for his family.

This father still wanted to celebrate the tradition of gift giving that honors God’s gift of his Son, Jesus. But he also wanted to save the budget and stop the Christmas craziness.

His plan was simple: to buy his children four gifts for Christmas each year. That’s right—FOUR gifts. They were “Something you want, something you need, something to wear and something to read.”

If the children complained, he asked them, “Whose birthday are we celebrating?”

Once he started buying just four gifts for each child, the children began to appreciate every gift they received. They insisted he label them. There was no more comparing who got the most gifts. No more whining amidst the piles of torn paper and boxes--“Is that all there is?”

It also helped focus on the true meaning of the Christmas gift giving: That we give gifts, like the Wise Men, to honor the Christ Child. And we do it to remember God’s gift of love to us.

Remember what the Bible says: “For God so LOVED the world that he GAVE his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Teach your children that one of the reasons you give them gifts is because you love them. And because God loves us, he gave us his greatest gift at Christmas: a Savior who is Christ, the Lord. Don’t let Jesus get lost under the tree. He is the reason for the season.

The four gifts are just a suggestion. But I’ll bet if you tried it, it just might get rid of the craziness trying to find and buy gifts you can’t afford. And trying to make everyone happy.

Then don’t forget that the real Saint Nicholas is remembered for giving gifts--not to those who had more than they needed but to those who were poor and had almost nothing. Maybe you could get your family excited about finding a family in need and making Christmas about giving instead of getting.

Remember the words the Lord Jesus himself said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Do your children and grandchildren know that?

The choice is yours: Christmas craziness or bring back the joy of giving. If you’re the parent, why not take the lead? You might just restore some sanity to your Christmas.

Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!