In our family we’ve cut back quite a bit on Christmas shopping.  We agreed that we have most things we need, and so for Christmas, we try to find something the person would not likely buy for themselves. We draw names within our own family, and we each  purchase something decent for one person for a set limit per person. It can be challenging, depending on the person and his or her tastes, but shopping for “on sale” merchandise is perfectly acceptable. Only the new baby in our family is not in the draw this year. We can find something special for her according to our budget. I already know what my gift for her is going to be.

In our extended family, we have an even more stringent limit. We can spend $15 max on a gift for someone else; we play a game  at our family Christmas gathering.  I take a new package  from the collection of gifts and open it, or I can take an unwrapped gift from someone else and give that person a new unwrapped package. We do that until everyone has had a chance to choose a gift or take a package from someone else.  The game is good for a lot of laughs. It’s the fun that counts, and the originality and creativity to come up with something useful or silly, and sometimes very surprising. While our family has been involved with church and community projects, we’ve also added a small collection for someone in need.

 For two Christmases,  instead of buying gifts for each other, my husband and I have bought something from the gift-buying guide,  Gifts from the Heart, sent out from Canadian Lutheran World Relief and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada. The first year we bought a fish net and a sack of potatoes, a modest gift from a modest budget. The gift of a fish net was not only a net; the gift also makes it possible for people in Third World countries to cultivate healthy fish stock they can in turn use for food for their families.  The sack of potatoes allows people in the Andes mountains in Bolivia and Peru to grow potatoes that are well suited to their soil conditions and climate.  For one of these gifts, one can spend as little as $15 for a fishnet to as much as $1750 for building a well where fresh water supply is needed. I don’t remember what we purchased last year.

We haven’t  yet decided on our selection for this year, but when we choose, we can send a cheque and the order form in the mail. The best part is that we can do something special and someone else does the shopping.

Outside of family purchases, I exchange gifts with only a few friends, and we too have a limit. Shopping can be exhausting, and I have limited patience for the frenzy of the mall near Christmas. Spending less [and therefore not accumulating unneeded debt or unneeded stuff]  suits  us and our budget quite nicely.  Aside from a few pairs of mittens or socks for the mitten tree at church [that the Salvation Army puts in their Christmas hampers], that’s about it for the shopping.  Christmas cards are another matter; some years it’s a letter, other years just a card.

Christmas gifts are about the love we desire to share with someone we love, out of the love we have received, but most importantly it’s about God sending Jesus to humankind, about that gift of grace and how we respond to it.