Making a Commitment
This year will be a different one for us on Christmas day. Rob and I have decided to give each of our children just three gifts. This will be symbolic of the gifts brought to baby Jesus by the three wisemen. At this time of year I usually spend a lot of time shopping and preparing for the big holiday. I hope that by simplifying the gifts, I will have more time and energy for building faith and participating in service with my children. It’s so easy to get through the Christmas holiday and realize too late that there were very few opportunities to really celebrate the true meaning of the day. I was hesitant to do it because I worried that the kids would be disappointed on Christmas morning. Especially since this year we will not have any visitors and there will be a lot of the day left to fill with less gift opening to fill it up. I have mentioned it to Hunter and Emma, and they seem surprisingly happy with the idea. I did hear Hunter say to Emma, “They can be better if we have less of them.” Rob and I had decided to do this last week, and then today I went to a meeting at church that really convinced me that this is a good decision for us.
In my enrichment meeting I was reminded of the counsel given by Sister Julie Beck, our Relief Society General President: “We must stand strong and immovable in faith, strong and immovable in family, and strong and immovable in relief… as you focus on essentials (you) will be given the courage to forego the frivolous.” I’m looking forward to a holiday season with a focus on faith, family, and service (relief)!
Amy,
That is such a GREAT idea. I’m inspired by that. Wasn’t conference (both RS and General) SO AWESOME! I feel like so many talks were geared toward me – and both of Sister Beck’s talks were wonderful. We’re not going any where this Christmas either. And, I’m so excited. Of course, Paige is too young to really grasp the idea of gift giving and receiving…but I think that this is a wonderful idea for when she is old enough. I’ll have to remember this. We all just need to simplify.
Sounds like you are doing GREAT. I need to get your new address. It’s almost Christmas card time.
Steph
That reminds me I need to email you again about some ideas. 🙂
Sounds like a great idea! We are hoping to make this year a simple one when it comes to gifts for the children, we did OK last year, and I hope to do even better this time around.
I think that’s a great idea. There’s the present fun AND a lesson on the true spirit of Christmas. Sounds like a winner. You’ll have to let us know how it goes.