I spend all year thinking about Christmas gifts for my friends and family. My circle is pretty small, so I have the luxury of taking the time to come up with something special for each person. It's cliche to say, but I love, love, love Christmas. It's not really about getting the gifts; it's about giving them, and I work hard to find just the right thing.
I have to be honest with you: this challenge came out of necessity. When Aurora was little, I was a stay home mom, and Mr. Bookshop was our breadwinner. We had cars and our own place, and we got to eat out sometimes. But Aurora's birthday, my two niece's birthdays, and my sister's birthday are within weeks of each other, and Christmastime was financially stressful. I started buying gifts throughout the year as I found them. Sometimes I got them on sale because it was the end of a season (especially for clothing items) or sometimes it was something I noticed the person looking at when we would shop somewhere together. I would return a few days later and get that item.
Then I would bring those thoughtful gifts home and keep them in a box hidden under my bed. At Thanksgiving, I would pull out that box and be reminded of all the wonderful treasures I purchased for people based on clues they have given me. My pre-shopping not only helped me get meaningful gifts, it helped me economically AND gave me time in December to really slow down and embrace the holiday season.
As I get older, I get more cynical about Christmas shopping. I see each year the ads about buying, buying, buying and huge discounts and buy 3 get 2 free, and it has begun to become plastic and materialistic. Bigger TVs, overflowing shopping carts, ads pushing the NEED for this latest version, "buy now, don't wait", commercializing Christmas and erasing the most important part of a gift: the thoughtfulness.
I don't believe Christmas was ever meant to be that way. I have always thought of it as a protected place in the calendar year to share memories and meaningful gifts, giving our time and our efforts to show those we love how much we care. It's not about the money we spend, and it's definitely not about the gift-with-purchase we get (and sometimes keep) that defines that special holiday. I want to believe most people do not want the quickie-Walmart gift. They would rather you spend less of your money, but more of your thought.
So...this brings me to our sale on Saturday. Yep, we are having a book sale. (I know I just ranted about sales and such. This editor message was odd to write. Keep reading and hopefully it makes sense.) I think it's a pretty good sale, and I won't even give you a hard time if you bought books for yourself. If you are a reader or know a reader, books are brain-food, and discounted books are deep-fried brain-food with unlimited dip. (Had to get that food reference in there.)
We also have over 20 local people here selling their unique, time-consuming creations and published works. Maybe you can find something handmade or locally created for people you care about, save those gifts in a box under your bed, and then be pleased with yourself when you open that box in November and see how thoughtful you are. THEN you can take a deep breath and create lasting memories with your favorite people, defining for yourself what Christmas really means.
I've put a link to one of my favorite modern Christmas songs to put you in the mood to think about what makes Christmas so special for you. We would love to hear your stories. Maybe you will share on Saturday.
Happy Holidays. :)
~ Charity and Amy (and Jack and Toothless)
