“All I want for Christmas is”…well, actually my two front teeth are doing quite well and as cute as the song might be, choosing gifts for others is not as easy as the media would have us believe. The older I get I find the less I need and the less cognizant I am of what would be best to give someone else, especially now that technology and technological gadgets seem to sit at the top of every advertised gift-giving list. I know enough about computers to get my work to publishers and to keep in touch with friends on Facebook but that’s about it. By choice. All that to say I definitely wouldn’t be good at choosing the latest electronic “toy” for someone else. (Although I suspect that many a merchant would be happy to assist.)
On to the next option: I’ve been told that my home-baked homemade cookies and cakes have been traditional “gimme’s” when it came to packaging up a gift for a neighbour. As sometimes unhealthy but tasty as they are, buttery tarts and finger-licking German Tortes usually have a short shelf-life and I’d really prefer my gifts have more lasting value.
I’ve tried, with extremely limited success, to pass on my treasured pieces of china but it seems that today’s young people are not much interested in Royal Albert. Where do I go from here? With so many things to be evaluated, among them cost, fragility in shipping and pertinence to the receiver, the gifting field is definitely narrowed.
In all of this it’s so easy to forget that the most valuable thing we can share with one another is genuine love-infused care and a godly example to follow. As someone recently posted: Remember, you may be the lighthouse in someone else’s storm.
Now that’s a gift worth giving!
