What happend to Christmas?

As the countdown begins till Christmas...
I sat down today and ordered my photo cards online...
I started thinking about the upcoming holiday...
And I started stressing.
I felt a wave a nausea.
I felt panic.
Why, you may ask would I feel this way about our Christ-child's birth?
A time of family gatherings...
A time of giving...
A time of delicious food...
A time of decorating...
A time of beautiful festive music...
Why???
Because I started to think about every Christmas of my adult life years past.
The older I get, the more stressful Christmas becomes to me.
Not so much in MY immediate home...I do have to say the four of us do really well around the holidays having fun, yet holding on to the true meaning of the holiday.
But...
As I hear...
"I need a list..."
"How much are we spending..."
"What do you want..."
"I need to return this..."
"I want..."
"This isn't what I wanted..."
"You bring the ____..."
"Be here at ____o'clock..."
"We're doing this..."
"I need you to..."
I start to feel a shear sense of overwhelming stress...so much so that I just want to scream "Enough!"
What is the meaning of "gift"?
Webster's Dictionary states that a gift is:
"anything voluntarily transferred from one person to another without compensation; a present; an offering"
It doesn't say anything about asking the person WHAT they want. It's not a requirement.
Back in the day...
People used to give gifts to one another out of the kindness of their heart.
You would see something...think about a person...it might remind you of that person...and you would pick it up for them.
It was a "gift" out of the kindness of their heart because they "handpicked" it for you with their HEART.
Now...
"I need your list..."
"How much is the spending limit..."
"Let's draw names..."
Honestly...most of us as Americans have everything we need...and then some.
The concept of exchanging gift cards and cash...honestly...where is the thought in that?
Have I done it?
Guilty! You bet I have!
Do I like it?
No. I'm not to proud about it.
I have gotten to the point where I would almost rather set a monetary amount, ask the person I'm "giving" to what is their favorite "cause" and make a donation in their honor. To me, that is awesome. We as Americans have so much "stuff".
I'm not talking about giving up the fun of Christmas morning with our children opening presents and their stockings.
But all the other people in our life where giving has almost become another item on our "to do list" because once again, the calendar has rolled around and I think, "What in the world am I going to get _____? They have everything!"
Please don't take this post the wrong way...
I LOVE PRESENTS!!!
I LOVE GIVING GIFTS TO OTHERS!!!
I AM A VERY GENEROUS PERSON!!!
But I really feel there is too much pressure to find the perfect gift...there shouldn't be "expectations".
Maybe instead of returning that ugly holiday sweater Aunt Margaret got you, you should put it in your closet and then pull it out and wear it when she comes to visit. She bought it out of the goodness of her heart.
Maybe instead of taking back that tacky picture frame cousin Lulu got you, you put her picture in it and set it out when she comes to visit. She loved you enough to buy it for you.
When the wisemen brought gifts to Jesus...they didn't ask Mary and Joseph, "What's our spending limit this year?" "Does he like the color blue?" No, they brought gifts out of the goodness of their hearts for the King.
So as we go into the holiday season...maybe we should all stop stressing over what to buy for who...and is it the perfect gift?
Maybe we shouldn't be rushing around so much because "WE HAVE TO BE THERE BY 7PM!" We'll be there when we can...
Maybe we shouldn't care about having the best decorated house on the block, we should have fun as a family spending time together making our home festive.
Maybe we don't bake 15 different types of fancy cookies, but we make our kids two favorites and let them help.
Maybe instead of squeezing in this outing, that activity, their party, and all the other "fluff"...we just sit down with the fam...visit, eat, and enjoy each other's company.
Maybe we just say...
"CHILL...it's all good..."
Because in the end...
Most people won't even remember what you got them last year...I know I don't...what I do remember is the fun and memories I have with my children and husband!
How about you?