Common Cents #31 Gift Giving

 

Gift Giving

 The custom of giving gifts goes back to the beginning of human history and is an important feature of every culture. When Jesus said that it is more blessed to give than to receive, he was stating the obvious. Part of the transition from childhood to adulthood is when we begin to receive more joy from giving than receiving. It has been said that the worst part of poverty is not being able to give to others.

Christians connect gift giving with Christmas because the Magi from the East brought gifts to the Christ child. They brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh. These may not sound like good gifts for a newborn, but they were practical because they could be easily converted to much needed cash. Many scholars believe that the gifts were used to finance Mary and Joseph’s escape to Egypt and their eventual return to Nazareth where Joseph could set up his woodworking shop. Those were very good and appreciated gifts.

In recent years many of us have gotten into the habit of spending huge amounts of money for gifts and running up credit cards that will take months to pay. Surely this dilutes the joy of giving.

In the earlier years of our marriage, my wife and I would designate a marathon Christmas shopping day. We would withdraw cash from the bank for the amount of our gift budget. We would kick off the day with a nice breakfast at Le Peep and then hit the stores, ending with a celebration dinner that evening. The idea was to buy gifts for everyone on our list, using the cash in hand. The goal was to get something for everyone, spending the exact amount of cash we had withdrawn from our back account. It was always a fun day, being together, picking out what we hoped were exactly the right gifts, and knowing  how much money we had to spend.  We did not go over the pre-determined budget, and that was challenging. Seeing our family and friends opening the gifts we had given made it all worthwhile.

Over time our siblings started their own families and the tradition of getting together to open presents became more of a challenge. Along with that, the joy of buying gifts began to diminish as we became less sure of what each person wanted or needed. As our parents aged and eventually passed away, the traditions of everyone being together are difficult to maintain.

Our Christmas gift budget and shopping is different now. We find that gifts given at birthdays or other special occasions for friends and family, or sometimes for no occasion at all has brought back the joy of giving, which is the whole idea. We also value the organizations and individuals who provide service and care for others. Regular giving to them gives us joy knowing that they are the hands and heart for others in a way that we cannot be.

If buying and giving gifts has become a stressful and budget breaking experience, it is time to re-evaluate why we are doing it. Maybe a family meeting to set spending limits or even a complete gift giving truce may be in order. This is a joyous time of year, let’s not overburden ourselves with pressure to overspend and lose the joy of the season and the joy of giving when other options are important to try.