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As our family has grown, buying gifts at Christmas was becoming in increasing hassle. We hit on a good formula a few years ago...at one of the daughters suggestion. Now, we all get together over Thanksgiving, and everyone writes down a gift choice on a slip of paper...with a $25 limit.
That is what I heard in His voice and what I saw on His face. I realized He had given me gifts to feed and clothe my family. Gifts to protect myself and those I love. Gifts to serve others. In all the stories we shared of adventures and accomplishments the stories we often do not share are the gifts we give to others.
When I am buying the gifts I think of when I was young. My Mom's mother passed away when I was 5yrs old and my Dad's family hated my Mother so we never got a Christmas gift from her either. We would just sit there and watch her give all the other grandchildren gifts but not me or my sister. I would never want my grandchildren to go through that.
My family's big holiday event every year is Thanksgiving. I love it. But for Xmas, my son and grandson always come over, for lunch or dinner. I look forward to it. Not a big deal, just the 3 of us enjoying each other's company and exchanging small gifts. This year, grandson may bring his girlfriend, not sure yet.
My family has had a saying for a long time. 90% of life is just showing up. If you want to resolve that unfulfilled love, put a balm on the hurt, and soothe the anger, get thee to Ohio and show your grandkids that they're worth more of an effort to you than a $50 check at Christmas.
Bought a some more (traditional to our family) Christmas gifts on Prime Day Deals yesterday. Happy to get some of this out of the way because pickings get slimmer and pricier come December.
I raised all three of my kids (in their 20s now) to always send a hand-written thank you note for gifts. If the note was going to a grandparent or other geographically distant relative, I told them to write something more than just "Thank you for the gift"; I made sure they included a few details about their school activities, etc.
We don't have children, and most of my immediate family has passed before me. I have a sister that I love dearly, who lives out of state, so we don't see each other often, just the occassional phone call or email, and birthday/Christmas cards or gifts. Most other relatives are far away, and we just exchange cards a couple of times a year.
I have a much shorter list now than years ago. The price of stamps now means I send only vital cards to closest family. I cannot believe I used to spend so much money on cards abroad, often on friends who had moved forever! Now only closest family abroad get a greeting - on WhatsApp. Now, if they are on Facebook, birthday greetings are on there.
I just stumbled across this forum on my cell and I am so happy to find a group like this. Here's an idea for the grown grandchildren that my mother-in-law used to do: give them something special that has been in the family for awhile: i.e. an old knick knack (Hummel, Lladro, etc.), family jewelry, Christmas ornament, etc. The list goes on and on.