My goal this year is joy-filled, stress-free gift-giving!
Shockingly… I saw #ChristmasWishList on Twitter several times yesterday!! It’s only August! The hairs on the back of my neck rose. My heart started to race…
How did Christmas become so stressful?
As a follower of Jesus, I long for Christmas to focus on His birth. I love the worship celebrations and fellowship that honor the miraculous coming of the Christ Child!
I also love expressing my heart through Christmas gifts. I aspire to find the perfect thing for each person on my list. When they open the gift, their joy fills my soul with incredible gladness! Sometimes, though, the stress of gift buying becomes overwhelming.
I step into the store. Head down the center aisle, turn right….
What to buy? How much should I spend? Will he like it? What color? What style? Will she think that I am not cool? Is it out of style? Will they think it is just dumb, but smile anyway, say “thank you”, then return it to the store?? Too many questions...
So … I head to the gift-card rack…feeling like a gift-giving wimp.
Argh…………. the stress-o-meter steadily rises!!!
How to find the right gift?
I finally nailed down the stress…
It’s not about the shopping. You could wander the stores for days without finding the perfect gift. You could know every item that Amazon ships…but it is not about the looking.
It’s about the person. What sport does your friend like? What is your niece’s favorite color? What is your grandson’s shirt size? What perfume does your grandmother wear? What movies does your dad like?
If you can answer these, your gift-buying is E-A-S-Y!
Invest Now
Listen. Hear what family members and friends talk about and what interests them. Ask questions and get to know the specifics of the special people in your life.
Take the time to really know the people around you. Gift-giving will then become a joy and a true blessing to the gift-receiver.
Don’t wait until the Thanksgiving gathering to begin asking, “What do you want for Christmas?”
Make it your goal to know family and friends so well that that say “Wow! This is perfect! How did you know??”
How do you prepare for the gift-giving season?
Posted by Sharon R. Hoover
* * * Delighted to be a part of the Thrive@Home Link-up this week! * * *
Ok….so you are linked a couple before me over at Thrive @ Home and I was NOT drawn to read about Chirstmas giving in AUGUST of all things!! I have to tell you that you reeled me in and I am going to listen more closely and start shopping this week. It will make Christmas a whole lot easier, plus it is a WHOLE lot warmer to be out shopping.
:-) I so agree, Judith!! Christmas in August is truly rushing the season! I hope the listening goes well in the coming days and weeks…so that the shopping will be a blessing and not a burden! Thanks for dropping in from Thrive@Home.