On the subject of presents

On Christmas Eve, Joshua asked which of the presents under our tree were from Santa. I told him none: that there were so many there already from family and friends that loved us that Santa knew he didn't need to add to our pile, but could spend his time delivering to kids who didn't have any presents, whose family and friends were too poor. On Christmas morning when my MIL objected, "What will they say when people ask them what Santa brought them?" I said to Jeff, "We can't give them presents from Santa just because other people expect it. That's no way to make any decision in life!" (And especially not a Christian's life.)

You might think I'm heartless, but we just don't "do" Santa here in this family. We talk about Santa when we encounter him in shops etc, but we don't get Santa photos, we don't write wish lists for Santa, we don't leave out milk and carrots for him & the reindeers. Instead, we talk about Jesus, the baby born to be king, the greatest gift ever for mankind, our gift from the only true God.

Of course, we still give gifts. Some of the hands down favourites this year have been the notebook and colour pencil set that I found for Anna;
the shiny cardboard box that some presents from my MIL came in, which has been given to Abigail for a treasure box (and in which I have since found her new pyjamas, which are, apparently, great treasures); the goofy glasses with fake nose and eyebrows that Joshua received from our next door neighbours (which completely freaked Anna out the first time he put them on) - I don't have a pic of this one yet because they are the "temporarily lost" present I mentioned in my last post. Oh, and the play-size wooden kitchen that Grandma and Grandad gave to the kids, which kept Jeff & I up for an extra hour or more with the cordless electric screwdriver on Christmas Eve.

Of all of these presents, with the exception of the kitchen (which Grandma bought at 30% off), none would have cost too much more than $10, and some of them much less (heck, one was wrapping, not even a present at all!) Sure, we all spent money on gifts, but it wasn't the money that made the difference. It was the though of what would appeal to each little person, what would be the gift that would most suit their personality and interests. Reminds me of that first Christmas gift, which God knew was the one thing which we most need (whether we know it or not) ... His Son, Jesus Christ, through whose atoning death on the cross we can have an everlasting relationship with the Alpha and Omega, the One True God, the Father.