This time of year, as we scan the
Black Friday ads, we all wonder what we should be buying (or making) for our
children for Christmas. May I encourage
you with some thoughts about gift-giving, especially regarding our children?
1. Remember that God made your budget. To complain is to accuse God. If you and I can’t afford the latest
electronics for our children, it’s not worth crying about. God is never a debtor; He gives well, and if He has chosen to limit
your budget more severely than those around you, be thankful for what you can
do. Teach your children to be thankful
and not to compare themselves with others who have more. “Let patience have her perfect work.” God has good reasons for every limitation He
places into our lives.
2. Never, never, never go into debt over
Christmas gifts. Material debt,
for non-essentials, is dishonest. We
like to make our friends and children happy at Christmas, but we must be honest
about our budgets. We can say that Christmas isn’t about the
toys, but when we borrow from 2014 to pay for them, we reveal our true
motives. How many Christmas gifts have
lain unattended in dresser drawers—or even been broken—while weary parents
tried to pay for them for six more months?
3. We must never rob God while trying to please
our children. The Bible commands
us to be consistent with our tithes (10% of our gross income given to God’s
work) and offerings (extra gifts that we give to missionaries and other notable
ministry projects). It’s easy at
Christmas time to “borrow” from those necessities in order to buy our children
what everyone else has. “Seek ye first
the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added
unto you.” Matthew 6:33.
4. Be on guard for the messages of materialism
all around us. I used to wonder
why “Thou shalt not covet” was listed among the ten commandments. It seemed so pale when situated underneath
lying, stealing, adultery, and murder!
Do you hear the messages that are played out on
commercials?
“Your family will love you more if you buy
this.”
“You will always be happy when driving this.”
“People
will think you are beautiful if you use this.”
“You
will always have friends if you own this.”
How silly we humans are to believe those lies! But they work: advertisers spend millions (maybe even
billions?) of dollars each year just for the privilege of coming into our
living rooms for 30 – 45 seconds and tell us that. Turn off the commercials (or even the TV
entirely!). Imagine those shiny toys at
a Goodwill store next summer. Because many
of them will be—and you can buy it then, for $2.00!
Be careful about buying toys that do all the thinking for
your kids—besides the fact that you will be buying batteries every other week,
they rob your kids of the ability to make their own fun.
5. Focus on others. The greatest joy really is in giving, not
receiving. Last weekend, a friend came
to me with an unusual request. She is
going through a terribly deep sorrow right now, and as she handed me an
envelope, she said, “I don’t have much
happiness in my life right now. Just
promise me that when you open this, you will smile. That will make me feel better.” I am so touched by her perspective. Our children need to discover the joy of
serving and reaching out to others.
Maybe a gift toward relief in the Philippines, or an hour singing carols
at the nursing home, will help them to focus on how they can do a small part to
relieve some of the enormous suffering in this sad world.
6. Buy gifts that make your children better
people. Gift-giving is a
wonderful opportunity to show love, share your values, and to help to shape our children’s character. Since our oldest are turning 17 years old tomorrow
and our youngest is just 4, I have a pretty good idea which toys last and which
ones break; which ones get used and which ones get played with. Joshua’s little shelf of toys is made up almost
entirely of hand-me-downs from his older siblings. Here’s what has lasted since 1996:
*Building toys: Waterproof and almost unbreakable (even if
Dad steps on one in the middle of the night
. . . the toys are unbreakable; Dad is not! ), you can’t go wrong with Legos
(all sizes), wooden blocks, and Lincoln Logs.
I’m seeing K’nex now, and I’m sure they will be on my list soon as well! We grew up with Tinker Toys too.
*Books. Not enough can be said for good books in the
home. I won’t make a list (it would be
a blog in itself), but be sure to purchase a copy of Honey for a Child’s
Heart by Gladys Hunt for a pretty
comprehensive book list and book reviews.
I’ve been known to grab that book and just comb my way through Amazon
and eBay for Christmas gifts (often 99 cents plus shipping).
*Hobbies. Woodcarving sets, tools, sewing machines
(maybe the only justification for Black Friday), hunting gear, weight set
(again, ours came from a garage sale for $5—don’t break the bank!), camping
gear, jump ropes, yo-yo’s, knitting/crocheting/cross-stitch
kits, scrapbooking materials, journals and pens, sports balls, sleds (if you live
near snow), music books, sketch pads and pencils, paint sets, kitchen items,
etc. Last year, we used some of Joshua’s
Christmas money toward wood, and his brother helped Dad to build him a little
sandbox under the tree outside. Don’t be afraid to buy discounted items. All of our roller-blades come from Goodwill
or garage sales.
*Imaginative play. Little people, dolls, cars, trains, army men
(yes, the ones who hold guns!), animals and barns, dress up clothes. My mom once bought a wedding dress for $5.00
at a garage sale. Most.Favorite.Toy.Ever. among the little girl cousins in this
family! My favorite home video is of
Kaitlyn (age 9) racing across the lawn in that wedding dress, chasing Louie,
her cousin’s dog.
*Board games. Not “bored games,” but get the ones that are
really fun! Monopoly, Uno, Battleship,
Stratego, Dominos, mancala, Settlers, Sorry!, Candyland, Skip-bo. We learned Dutch Blitz from a missionary to
England, and we got hooked. Puzzles are a fun family project too.
*Educational and
spiritual DVD’s and CD’s, science projects (Hobby Lobby will get your
imagination going).
*Spiritual growth. A new Bible, a devotional journal, a book
about the Christian life.
*Yourself. What do you do well? My mother-in-law once sewed the twins each
their own apron and gave them a package of muffin mix. They had so much fun cooking for us that
night! Memories last longer than
toys. And of course we still have those
precious little aprons!
*Practical. Curling irons, stockings full of deodorant (especially
if you have a seventh-grader around), underwear (why buy it in January when you
can call it a “gift”?), anything they have been borrowing from you lately. J
Merry
Christmas!
“We love Him
because He first loved us.” What a
gift! What a Savior! We have so much to celebrate.
No comments:
Post a Comment