Unexpected Gifts
As the holidays approach, I start to think of the people who I want to give gifts to this year. I start to get a little sad because I believe the true meaning of gift giving has been lost. There are people on my list that I feel obligated to gift and those on my list that I truly want to gift.
But for some on my gift list there are people who just want to tell me what they want. I get more and more bothered by this every year. I am tired of the materialism of “having to get someone something good” or feeling obligated. That is why I am a huge fan of random acts of kindness.
I have this fantasy where I have a lot of money and I just walk around giving money to anyone. I am not necessarily talking about the poor on the streets, but to everyone. I see hard work being done every day and to get an unexpected surprise like that I think would just spread kindness. What a gift!!!
I don’t even think I could tell you what I got for Christmas last year, but I can tell you that I got a cookie jar with lemons on it that my Mom left on my front door one day. I can picture clearly the Easter dress I was surprised with when I was about 10 years old and we didn’t have money for new clothes. I still have a huge petrified rock that my husband carried home on his lap over hundreds of miles on rocky terrain because I was so interested in Geology.
These are my true gifts in life. None were required gifts on a holiday, but all were given in the true nature of giving.
Just writing this down has inspired me to work to make changes in my family. I will post again on what I have come up with and if you have any ideas, send them my way!
October 18th, 2007 at 2:27 am
Your words hit me very deep. This is the very reason that my husband and I RARELY give toys to our friends’ children at birthdays and the holidays. Not that we don’t like seeing their little faces light up, but most of the time it lasts about 10 seconds until the next gift is unwrapped. We would much more prefer showing up for a visit with a surprise in hand or just quietly supporting them via school fundraisers or (yet to come) help when they head off to university or their next big stage in life.
This is also why I am such a huge fan of experience gifts. What a better thing than having a great dinner together or to see a show or a get-a-way girls weekend. We have been trying to do this the past couple of years to give strictly experience gifts. At least that is one way to go.
B
October 18th, 2007 at 3:27 am
I love the experience gift idea. I did this one year when I gave out movie tickets to all my nieces and nephews. They loved it even though I couldn’t take them. I wish I could have, but I have a LOT of relatives.
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