Did “You” Get Bigger Than Christmas?

Christmas has come and gone once again.  Whether you had everything exactly the way you wanted or had disappointments I want to ask: Did you let yourself get bigger than Christmas this year?  Last year? Every year?

Every year I say that I am going to get on a budget for Christmas and shop early.  I tell myself I am going to watch my spending and not go overboard. Every year I tell myself I am not going to wait until the last minute and find myself out grabbing gifts no matter the overpriced cost and the lack of thought and genuineness that goes into them.  I tell myself I will give more money to the Angel Trees or other charities instead.  And I am telling myself that again this coming year. Yes I am!!!!!

I guess I might have made it about half way this year but still going way over budget and really with no thought of how much I had spent until I go over my credit cards and bank statements. OUCH!!!!

I did manage in the haze of cooking and shopping to wind up coming up with some thoughtful gifts for people that didn’t even cost a lot of money.  Just the time spent putting them together.  I love giving and getting those gifts the most. But still the spending was a little overboard.  When I do this I feel like I am the Christmas and that I am getting away from the real meaning of Christmas.

Gifts are great and they’re special and hopefully given from the heart.  I love seeing children get gifts.  Our local Kiwanis Club provides gifts for about 50 children in our community.  The local school teachers help put the names together for us.  The names also include the names of their younger siblings who may not even be in school.  The teachers discovered that the children in their classes were asking for things for their younger siblings instead of themselves so the siblings names were then included. This makes me want to sit down and cry my eyes out.  How precious is it that a child would be more concerned about their siblings getting gifts instead of themselves.

I remember when I was a little girl of about six years old we were at my grandparents house and my grandfather had started opening his presents.  He was really taking his time unwrapping them I had already unwrapped all of mine.  I wondered how he could take his time like that and move so slowly.  In the middle of unwrapping his gift my dad said something to him and they stepped outside to look at something.  I saw him lay the gift down to return to it later.  I couldn’t believe it. He hadn’t even finished opening his gift, what?????? I think it was pajamas or something and he probably couldn’t have cared less about it. Ha Ha. But to me being a child and not ripping into that gift was unthinkable.

As I have gotten older I totally understand, it’s so much more than “gifts” it’s love and caring and giving your time and helping each other in whatever way you can. These are times that everyone can use a little help in one way or another. I will try to take that with me into the new year.

Love your day your way