It always amazes me how carried away we can get with gift giving at Christmas. Don't get me wrong, I think giving gifts is great but it can easily become overwhelming and out of control. When we got married, we knew that we didn't want to shower our kiddos with gifts and we also had a hard time with the whole- Santa thing. I grew up with Santa as part of my Christmas celebration, but as we talked about what our Christmas traditions would be, we decided Santa wouldn't be a part of it. For us, Christmas is about Jesus' birth and we didn't want anything to compete with that. For me, it's like me telling my little lady on her birthday, that her birthday is REALLY SPECIAL but we are going to focus our time and attention on someone else. I know... I might be striking a nerve with some people because they do the whole "Santa thing." This is not to say your way is wrong or to be judgmental...this is just our simple feelings and what we are choosing to do in our family. So, I thought I would share with you, what we do...
We give only 3 gifts, yes, only 3.
The gifts are based off of what the wise men brought Jesus...gold, frankincense, myrrh.
Gold is a precious metal and the wise men brought gold to Jesus because he is so precious to us, as the savior of the world. A "gold gift" would something precious to the person receiving it. In other words, something special the person wants. It can really be anything!
Frankincense is an incense that was burned and symbolically represented their prayers going up to God. This gift represents something to enhance a person's Spiritual life. It can be a bible, devotional, book, CD, journal, etc. Last year, I got my man tickets to a conference, where his favorite Christian author John Eldredge spoke at. Not only was it a great spiritual gift for him, but I got to enjoy it too!
Myrrh was used to embalm a dead body...seems a bit weird to bring to little Jesus, but it was symbolizing what was to come, Jesus dying on the cross. This gift represents something for the body. It can be clothes, shoes, a scarf, lotion, jewelry, etc.
On Christmas morning, my man reads the Christmas story out of the gospel of Luke, so that we can remember why we celebrate Christmas and the 3 gifts that the wise men brought Jesus.
Great ideas Melissa!!!
ReplyDeleteI really, really like this idea! I feel like our kids are just being groomed to expect lots at Christmas, and not to focus on the real meaning. Matt and I hardly even give them a thing at Christmas, but the grandparents go way, way overboard. Do you have to deal with this too, or do your sets of parents follow this as well?
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