In the last few days, I have come across a few different pieces of communication that are striving to get out a different message this Christmas, one that encourages Americans in particular to go against the norm and spend less this year. A video and compaign that I was especially impressed with and convicted by is the Advent Conspiracy (see the video!). Our church, Parkview Community, is promoting and participating in this campaign. Today, I read a great blog entry by our Executive Pastor on a related subject...read his thoughts here.
Reading and watching and hearing this new message has been encouraging to me, but it is also raising a lot of questions in my mind. It leads me to go back to the fundamental question of whether or not we should give gifts are Christmas. Is giving gifts to loved one a good way of showing love to them? If so, when are we going overboard? How much is too much? Coming from a family who loves giving gifts and being a person who really loves to give and receive gifts, it would be hard for me to cut this out of the holiday as a way of celebrating. This year, I hope I will be an especially wise steward of our finances...spending some money on gifts for family and friends, being creative in how I spend those funds and giving a lot of time/energy/money away to those who need it more than we do.
What do you think about giving gifts at Christmas? Share your thoughts!
AC is a great example of popularizing spending less, they've tailored a great sales pitch and it seems to be working at convincing folks.
ReplyDeleteI think thoughtful gift giving is great, I also think the best time to avoid giving gifts is the holidays. Here's an interesting experiment, what if you were to move your gift giving part of Christmas to mid-January. Could you do it?
I think most people can't which is testimony to the impact of marketing and consumerism and the rest.
I'm rambling, all done.
I AM SO PLEASED AT YOUR THOUGHTS ON GIFT GIVING AT CHRISTMAS TIME. I AGREE WITH YOU 100%.
ReplyDeleteWHEN OUR FAMILY HIT AT THIS ISSUE SEVERAL YEARS AGO IT WAS A BLESSING. IT DID HAVE SOME "KINKS" IN THE PLAN TO DRAW NAMES BECAUSE THE PARENTS ENDED UP BUYING ALL THE GIFTS FOR THEIR KIDS , WHO HAD A NAME FROM THE DRAW, SO IT DID NOT HELP THEM A LOT!!!
NOW, AS OF LAST YEAR, THERE IS NO NAME DRAWING. ANYONE CAN DO WHATEVER THEY WANT TO, SO THEY ARE FREE TO DO NOTHING , OR SOMETHING.
I THINK GIVING GIFTS ANY TIME DURING THE YEAR HAS A LOT OF MERRIT. YOU ARE ON THE RIGHT TRACK, I BELIEVE. KEEP IT UP.