the giving...
i love this time of year... love the decorations, love the lights, love the chill in the air, love the food, love the parties, love any reason to let champagne flow. i don't love the retail consumer madness. but i do love the spirit of giving. it's the one time of year most folks think of giving of themselves, and i love that.
it's a real challenge every year to teach non-consumerist christmas values when we are barraged with ads from all kinds of media to buy, buy, BUY!!! even I, who typically eschew the advertisements that make up half the bulk of the sunday paper, find myself mesmerized by all the colorful and well placed ads. yes, we need a new TV, yes, a new camera, yes, more sweaters, yes, more shoes, yes, more toys. and we need it all now! it's christmas damn it! and they are all on sale!!!
after i put away the paper, i always ask the kids, not what they want for christmas (juju is good at telling me what she wants all the time), but what they are going to DO for other people (be it family or friends) for christmas. the kids are finally all old enough to actively participate in the giving. and i don't mean the make a christmas card and give it to grandma kind of giving, although that has been and always will be a very precious and valid form of giving.
every year for the last 5 years, on Christmas Eve, Big R is at the AIDS emergency fund christmas eve dinner, serving, well, christmas dinner, while I am at home getting things ready - making dinner, wrapping gifts, watching the kids grow. nothing wrong with that. this year, however, no one will be at home on christmas eve. we are all going to volunteer at the AEF dinner. i'm so glad the kids are old enough, i've been waiting for this day for a long time. i'm so excited!! whether it be plating desserts or busing plates, chopping veggies or serving turkey, i think this will be a wonderful way to celebrate christmas eve as a family. wonderful because we will all be together, and we will all be working towards making something special for someone else. what better way to show our gratitude for the life we have.
santa will still come and load presents upon presents under our tree. there will still be the chaotic wrapping paper spectacle in the morning. there will still be lots of chocolates and champagne and blue cheese on endive spears to consume. but first, the kids have to learn what it means to give. what better way to get the concept - by actively being there among people, giving of themselves, even if just once a year.
it's a real challenge every year to teach non-consumerist christmas values when we are barraged with ads from all kinds of media to buy, buy, BUY!!! even I, who typically eschew the advertisements that make up half the bulk of the sunday paper, find myself mesmerized by all the colorful and well placed ads. yes, we need a new TV, yes, a new camera, yes, more sweaters, yes, more shoes, yes, more toys. and we need it all now! it's christmas damn it! and they are all on sale!!!
after i put away the paper, i always ask the kids, not what they want for christmas (juju is good at telling me what she wants all the time), but what they are going to DO for other people (be it family or friends) for christmas. the kids are finally all old enough to actively participate in the giving. and i don't mean the make a christmas card and give it to grandma kind of giving, although that has been and always will be a very precious and valid form of giving.
every year for the last 5 years, on Christmas Eve, Big R is at the AIDS emergency fund christmas eve dinner, serving, well, christmas dinner, while I am at home getting things ready - making dinner, wrapping gifts, watching the kids grow. nothing wrong with that. this year, however, no one will be at home on christmas eve. we are all going to volunteer at the AEF dinner. i'm so glad the kids are old enough, i've been waiting for this day for a long time. i'm so excited!! whether it be plating desserts or busing plates, chopping veggies or serving turkey, i think this will be a wonderful way to celebrate christmas eve as a family. wonderful because we will all be together, and we will all be working towards making something special for someone else. what better way to show our gratitude for the life we have.
santa will still come and load presents upon presents under our tree. there will still be the chaotic wrapping paper spectacle in the morning. there will still be lots of chocolates and champagne and blue cheese on endive spears to consume. but first, the kids have to learn what it means to give. what better way to get the concept - by actively being there among people, giving of themselves, even if just once a year.
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