I have a problem with Christmas. Well, actually, I have several problems with Christmas. It has become too predictable, too commercial and basically meaningless. Christmas centres far too much on buying the latest gadget or following the latest trend. The build-up to Christmas has turned from excitement to tension and the traditional let-down on the actual day itself is more like a major crash.
Don't get me wrong. I have no problem with buying trendy or popular gifts to rip open on Christmas Day, but I think, in the spirit of Christmas-the true spirit of giving-there should be some very special gifts that transcend the ordinary hype. These gifts should conjure up a lasting memory of a special holiday long after the wrapping paper has been thrown away. A Christmas gift should feel like a miracle-or as close to it as you can get.
Here are my suggestions for a merrier, more meaningful Christmas.
1. Give a gift to someone who doesn't expect it. One year I realised that half the people I gave gifts to really didn't care about them no matter how special I tried to make their gifts so I simply began to leave those people off my list. Then there were those people I felt compelled to buy a gift for simply because they fell somewhere within my radar for the year. Instead of buying small gifts
for those people whose tastes I could never measure up to, I pooled all my money and bought an unexpected gift for someone I barely knew. One year I bought a special gift for the gas station attendant who always took the time to talk to me about movies. One year I gave my walker to a patient from the St Ann's Mental Hospital who hobbled down the street for the entire year. I now make a tradition out of giving the unexpected Christmas gift.
2. Give a gift that makes your workplace a better place. At Christmas, the entire mood of a workplace changes as everyone shares the spirit of giving at Christmas. There's a community spirit that evolves in the workplace as people organise treats and events like Secret Santa. Why not transform Secret Santa into a Secret Motivator midway through the year to keep people's spirits up?
Also, organise a work-based community service project to extend the spirit of caring and giving throughout the year.
3. Make your community or your country a better place. Look around you for ways to give the special gift of time to your community. Become involved in community service. Offer to do homework supervision for students whose parents come home from work late.
Become involved in a neighbourhood food drive or a church project. If you have a talent or an interest in sports or crafts, find ways to volunteer those services. There are endless ways to make the community or country a better place and, believe me, you get that same warm feeling that you get from the best Christmas ever.
4. Be a real Santa. Give a gift for the sake of giving and make it an anonymous gift. Donate food, clothes-new clothes, not just old hand-me-downs-to someone who really needs help. Churches and other social organisations always know of people you can help.
5. Give a gift that benefits a cause. If you don't have a lot of time or money, and you really want to give from the heart, look for one of the many causes that surface at Christmas and throughout the year. There's always a fund-raiser for someone who needs medical expenses. This is such an easy and meaningful way to give. Giving can be as simple as buying a couple of barbecue tickets for a fund-raiser. Budget some money to give throughout the year.
6. Think of the less fortunate in society and give from the heart on a regular basis. I know one woman who tithes ten per cent of her earnings every month by putting together food parcels for poor people. She gives these food parcels to a church to distribute. There are people who need help for the whole year on a regular basis, and a little bit of help goes a long way.
7. Invest in the youth of this country. Volunteer to read to children in a school, organise a book club at a school or start a book club for children in your neighbourhood. This takes less time than you think. An effective book club for children should last no more than half an hour to one hour a week. That gives you time to read and discuss the books.
Consider this: children who read get into less trouble. They do better in school and they become more productive in life. Readers use their minds to think through situations so everyone benefits in society. It's not difficult to start a book club. If you have food, children will come.
There are so many ways to extend the true meaning of Christmas long after the holiday is over. All it takes is some imagination and a willingness to really think about the meaning of the holiday.