“What Do You Want To Give This Christmas, Suzie?”
- Posted by glen on December 12th, 2006
When little kids hear the word “Christmas”, one of the automatic word associations is “gifts”. Sure, you’ve got “Frosty” and “Rudolph” and “Santa”, but those are just afterthoughts. The core of Christmas is GIFTS. Yet they’re never associated with giving.
We all know how it works. You ask Santa for what you want, and hope you get it. Sometimes the jolly man delivers, and sometimes it’s “maybe next year, honey”. A lot of disappointment hinges on whether you pull in the loot you so carefully outlined in your 53-page report addressed to the North Pole. Sure you’ll willing to overlook some of the smaller items, just so long as you get that Red Ryder BB Gun, right Ralphie? There’s a lot of pressure to being a kid around Christmas.
So what happens when you don’t get that thing you really wanted? Every other present doesn’t really matter. The ham loses it’s flavor, even Grandma’s pie doesn’t taste as sweet as it usually does. Christmas is ruined. It’s tough being a kid.
I wonder what it would be like if Santa asked “What do you want to Give this Christmas?”. By placing all of the emphasis on getting, we’re setting getters up for failure, and putting tremendous pressure on the givers. But if we shift the focus on what we’re giving, this problem goes away.
The true meaning of a gift is something that is given, as an act of thoughtfulness or love. There is no love involved in buying something off of a list. That’s called grocery shopping.
I’m trying it out this year: I’m giving no hints as to what I want, and I’m talking freely about what I want to give. What do you want to give this Christmas? ;)
December 12th, 2006 at 11:14 am
[...] Glen at LifeDev (a new member of the B5 Biz Channel Family) turns this on it’s ear Let’s really focus this season on giving. Yep. That’s cool. [...]
December 12th, 2006 at 3:13 pm
That’s a fabulous idea to teach kids. Almost makes me wish I had some so that I could ask them what they’d like to give this year…
December 12th, 2006 at 4:26 pm
I wanna give a whole suitcase full of tees and sweatshirts to the adults who work along with my son in a Guatemalan orphanage! Our family is lucky enough to be making a week-long trip there right after New Years to visit with him and the folks he works with. I’m planning on wearing a few of the tees while I’m there, laundering them and leaving them all behind. The kids don’t have a lot, but the workers have even less! :-)
December 12th, 2006 at 6:07 pm
Great gift Cyndi!
December 12th, 2006 at 6:30 pm
Really great post. Its always amazed me how much more I’ve enjoyed the holidays since I learned to focus on the giving instead of the receiving. Now I find myself jotting notes in June with an almost hyperventilating thrill over how shocked the recipient will be. Its all good fun.
I wished I’d learned it years ago and avoided the ’spoiled brat’ pouting that flavored most of my holidays as a kid.
My favorite gift this year:
*smirks*
I just can’t tell… all my favorite giftees are bloggers too!
December 13th, 2006 at 7:28 am
In the same vein as your previous IS THAT WHAT YOU REALLY WANT? post, nice idea - by shifting the point of emphasis, it makes both the giving and the receiving more enjoyable. Happy Christmas!
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