The Four Gifts of Christmas

"Christmastime is here,

happiness and cheer.

Fun for all that children call

their favorite time of year."

The snow is falling (and falling, and falling.)  It finally feels like winter in New England.  The tree is up, the lights are on the house and we are reading "The Night Before Christmas" every night before bed.  Olivia tells us that she will let Santa sit on our couch and eat cookies and drink milk, but he can't stay forever.

We are also talking a lot about what Christmas really means.  Cameron and Olivia know that Christmas is celebrated as the day that Jesus was born and that Jesus is God's son.  In our discussions we talk about giving and what it means to give.  We are spending time this week going through our books and toys and filling a box to bring to St. Vincent De Paul Society.

But, of course, my kids are also very aware of the fact that Christmas means Santa will come and bring them presents.  Cameron actually wrote his Christmas list this year, which I found to be pretty amazing! This year is also the first year that both kids sat on (or near) Santa's lap for a photo.

Even if you have made a choice, as we have, to buy local or handmade and avoid commercialized plastic toys for your children, I still think that the "present" part of Christmas can be overwhelming.  No matter what "type" of gifts there are, if there are too many the spirit of the day seems overshadowed by the wrapping paper flying all over the room in the flurry of gift-opening.  It is hard for a child (my children) to appreciate the gift they just opened if they are being told to put it down and open the next box.  In our house, when the kids start to feel overwhelmed, I start to feel overwhelmed. 
"You are only as happy as your happiest child."  (That's a quote from The Middle, a sitcom I watched the other day.)

The Four Gifts of Christmas is something that I have been thinking about for the past year.  It started last year when my sister-in-law Kelly told me about a Four Gifts idea she read in an article.  The four gifts were one thing the child wanted, one gift they need, one thing to wear, and one to read. Then I found an article about another woman's struggles with Christmas gift-giving.

Three of the Four Gifts of Christmas are categorized by the gifts the Three Kings brought Jesus - Gold, Frankincense and Myrhh.  The Gold gift is wrapped in gold paper and is a gift they want or need and is "worth gold" to them.  The Frankincense gift is a gift to support their spiritual faith.  The Myrhh gift is associated with their individual hobbies or interests.  The fourth gift is the Santa gift.  A surprise, but something that is unique to them.

The author, Dawn Anderson, has many more children than me, and her reasons for starting this are quite different than mine.  But the meaning behind it is the same.  I want Christmas to be more meaningful and memorable.

My personal parenting choices being what they are, I have mixed the two ideas and came up with my own version, using the labels, but changing the meanings:

Gold - a gift they really want. 
Frankincense - A gift of warmth or something to wear.
Myrhh - A gift to support their creativity.
Santa - A wooden toy.  Something fun that may or may not be on their list.



"This year can be different. It can be a merry Christmas, indeed."