A Giving Christmas (2015)

I love Christmas time. The snow, decorations, beautiful lights, special food, music, caroling, and the spirit of Christmas makes me glow with warmth. I love presents--don’t you? I’m happy to receive but most importantly, I love to give.

When my children were small, I shopped and picked out just the right thing to wrap for them to open on Christmas morning. I didn’t wrap the gifts until Christmas Eve after the children were snug in bed. I made sure each package looked pretty and then carried them to the tree.

Excitement filled me. I hardly slept Christmas Eve. I'm not normally a morning person which means I need to sleep in a little and don’t jump right out of bed. I tend to be a night owl. I love to stay up late. On Christmas morning, typically to this day, I’m the first one awake. I lie there in the dark waiting until I think the sun is finally peeking over the horizon.

As soon as possible, I nudged my sleeping husband awake. I crept out of bed and threw on a robe and slid my feet into soft slippers. I scurried into the kitchen and made coffee. Listening to the coffee maker, I turned on all the beautiful Christmas lights. They looked so pretty in the semidarkness.

The tree was gorgeous with packages in reds, green, gold, and silver. Sure enough, the stockings were overflowing with cool trinkets, fruit, and candy.

I couldn’t wait to see my kid’s faces as they saw the gifts. Tradition in our home is to play the Chipmunks on a record, tape, or now a CD. Their father queued it up and the Chipmunks blared Christmas songs. The first chords of the song signaled the children and our faithful dog, Chance, to come out of their rooms.

Their faces, though sleepy, glowed and split into huge grins. Expressions of “Oh,” “Ah,” and “Look!” passed out of their lips. I sat and watched. I was filled with a joy knowing I helped make their Christmas special. We didn’t have a lot of money for gifts but that wasn’t important. The important things are doing for and giving to others.

My children are all grown now, and I have eleven grandchildren with my new husband’s grandchildren, we have 16. I still love Christmas and try to make it as special as I can.

I hope you have a heart that would rather give than receive. Our Christmas’ would not have been as special if we only thought about getting gifts. Then the focus would have been only on the gifts and who got what, and not on others and their needs to feel special.

We should have a heart to give. This time of year, we are reminded again and again to give to others. I hope that is what you love to do all throughout the year.

Have a blessed and merry Christmas!