Our church introduced a "Simple Christmas" season. We are challenged to spend less and give more thoughtful gifts. We received resources to help us consider making Christmas time less hectic.
Ten Steps from Hectic to Simple (Movement Toward a Holier, Healthier, Less-broke Christmas!)
Ten Steps from Hectic to Simple (Movement Toward a Holier, Healthier, Less-broke Christmas!)
- Draw names
- Give family gifts instead of individual gifts
- Give gifts only to children
- Design and make your own gifts
- Give to mission and benevolent project in someone's honor
- Give and wrap gifts in a way that cares for the environment
- Give the gift of your time, talents and involvement (more presence, less presents!!)
- Adopt a family in the community
- Give to global missions
- Plan a small snack reception in your home in order to get to know your neighbors better
Our family is trying to do some of these suggestions. We are going to spend vacation time together this year in lieu of gifts and just bring gifts for Cora, my granddaughter. We also adopted a local family and have been buying gifts and grocery gift card for their family.
Is your family doing anything different this year for Christmas? Do you have some simplier suggestions?
2 comments:
I'm working on it -- my family is hard to convince! Most of the gifts I am giving come from the WorldVision gift catalog. I'm pairing them with something related (a gift of school supplies for schools/kids in the developing world is being paired with a Chinese film about a substitute teacher trying to keep kids in an impoverished village in school -- for my mom, who is a teacher and grew up in Taiwan.)
I'm trying to focus the paired part of the gift on the need that the WorldVision donation meets.
I love the idea of adopting a local family!
These are some great suggestions. Thanks. We adopt kids from Angel Tree ministries. We buy gifts and wrap presents for them.
~Cheryl
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