Really. I’m not kidding.
While everyone is still thinking about Christmas, is an ideal time to pitch a different way of doing gift-giving next year.
Reduce the number of gifts under the tree and change the way we celebrate.
I’ll let this short video from an organization with a radical name – The Advent Conspiracy – explain it…
Can’t see the video? View it here.
It’s about moving away from the shopping, and lines, and lists that go along with Christmas gift-giving, and replacing presents with presence. (It’s what kids really want/need.) You’ll be less frazzled, frustrated, and flat-broke. You’ll have more time to celebrate God with us. And the best part: reduced spending on gifts allows us to give more – to those with real needs.
This Christmas the adults in our family got a small gift and a note about a donation made in their name. I actually enjoyed the “shopping” this year – choosing charities! It made my happiness run wild when I received an email from the Executive Director of Community Action Network (CAN), our gift to my brother and sister-in-law, excerpted below:
I cannot tell you how panicked I was last week Tuesday, December 13, when I discovered 40+ CAN families had not been sponsored for Christmas. I could only imagine how devastated parents would be when we told them we had no presents…But after we put out our plea for help, the response was overwhelming…
Here at Community Action Network, we experienced our own Christmas miracle: you. You made Christmas (for the) families come true this year. You saved Christmas.
The way we celebrate Jesus’ birth can change the world.
Photo credits: Click here for info on banner photo (not visible in readers or email).
Advent Conspiracy poster and video from here.
Family Faith Companion 