A joyful giver

While I love the Christmas season as a time of celebration of the most amazing gift we have ever received, I have never been a truly joyful giver. Christmas shopping for me is summed up in the word: stress. It's no secret that I really don't like shopping in general, but Christmas shopping is by far the hardest for me to stomach. I'm very practical by nature and I only like to give a gift if I know it is needed and will be put to use. I hate to contribute to the clutter that ties so many of us down. So, I hit the stores with the perfect gift idea in my head. Something needed . . . and wanted. But I never find that perfect gift. So then I end up buying some silly thing that may bring a smile to the recipient, but will likely just end up gathering dust somewhere once Christmas has passed. Other times during the year, I may just run into the perfect gift for someone, and I will give it joyfully, for no specific occasion, just because I found it and knew it was perfect for that person. This makes me happy.

The vast majority of this year's Christmas shopping has gone about like other years. I didn't find those perfect gifts, so I bought whatever I found that would do the job. But tonight as I was wrapping up Nathan's gifts, I was just smiling ear to ear. For I did find the perfect gifts for my little boy. I know him so very well, that I know exactly what he wants. And because this, his second Christmas, is the first one he will really grasp, I know he doesn't even expect gifts. He doesn't know they are coming and will be so overjoyed to receive them. Yes, his gifts will certainly add to the clutter of my house, will likely cause me to trip at some point or another, and will further push me into the decorating realm that involves colored plastic, but I have not been this excited to give a Christmas gift for a long time.