This morning my husband commented, “I hate Christmas shopping. It takes too much time.” I had to agree that it is time-consuming and it is stressful. We actually have a small pool of people to buy gifts for, comparatively speaking, but it is still the same old story. For some people, like his grandma, it is hard to buy for because she doesn’t ever express a strong desire for anything particular. When my husband asks his mom what his grandma might want, she doesn’t have many ideas either. “Just get her some lotion or scratchers,” she will offer. “She doesn’t really care about gifts.”
For kids of course, it is the opposite. Once they reach an age to understand Christmas, they want everything. I have eight nieces and nephews and there is no problem buying for them, but how many new Nerf guns does a kid really need?
And then you have my husband. He is very particular and I have often given him gifts that he ends up returning or exchanging. Now, I would much rather he do this than keep something he doesn’t like or won’t use, but over the years I’ve come to dread looking for his gifts because I worry they will never be quite right. In all reality, he has often told me to not worry about buying him any gifts, but I feel happy when I am able to find a special gift for those I love. I don’t want to give thoughtlessly, but it seems harder and harder to find amazing gifts because most of us have all that we need and much of what we want.
Ultimately though, what I’m trying to say is that we place too much focus on the gifts at Christmas time. It is wonderful when we can find a special gift that someone will appreciate, but when we feel pressured to find the perfect gift for everyone we know at a specific time of year, it’s no wonder we stress.
I love Christmas, but I think it should be a time when we focus on the most important things in our lives–like family and time together. One of my sisters suggested that this year we spend a little extra time with the nieces and nephews creating some memorable experiences with them and I love that. If you think back to special moments in your life, it is much more likely many of those moments are related to experiences rather than things.
May we all find the opportunity to create some beautiful memories this season!
