What Shall I Give This Christmas?

I have been wondering what gifts I should give for friends and loved ones this Christmas. The family had been receiving gifts from many generous friends since the start of December. And every time I receive a gift, there's a mental note that I should give back to that person who gave me.

Two days before Christmas, my list is still not complete. And I have a tendency to panic! It's hard to decide what gift to give, especially if you're working in a budget. In fact, I even resolved last month that just this year, we won't be giving away gifts because of the current economic situation. That resolution changed the minute I received a gift from a friend.

But why do we give gifts anyway? The idea of gift giving during Christmas may have started from the Bible when the wise men visited the child Jesus to worship and honor Him (found in Matthew 2:1-12). On verse 11, the wise men opened their treasures and presented Jesus with gifts of gold and incense and of myrrh which have symbolic and prophetic meanings. Gold is a gift fit for a king (Jesus is King of kings, 1 Tim. 6:15), incense associated with priesthood (Zechariah 6:13) and myrrh, a burial ointment for someone who would die (Jesus died to save sinners like you and me, Luke 23:46).

There was also the idea that gift-giving and love is associated. There was an adage that "you can give without loving but you cannot love without giving". The Father has given His one and only begotten Son, Jesus Christ (John 3:16) to be born and save all mankind (Luke 2:11) and be crucified because of our sins (Matthew 27:35). Jesus is the Father's gift to us because He loves us so much. Jesus is the real object of Christmas, not the gifts, the festivity nor Santa. Because Jesus came, we are celebrating Christmas.

All the fuss I have about buying gifts took on a different meaning yesterday as I was able to chat to my friend overseas. She said, this year, she told her friends and loved ones she would be giving a different kind of gift to each of them. For instance, she promised her twin sister she won't be making arguments with her. For the rest of the family, she would be spending more quality time with them. Such a nice idea for today when Christmas has come face to face with commercialism and the new message is to buy.

Ask me if I'd still buy gifts? Yes, but the gifts wouldn't need to be expensive. Simple, affordable yet useful things. I, for one, do not mind what kind of gift I receive. The idea that my friend had me in mind gives me great joy already. No budget? A simple email, text message or a phone call just to let them know you remember them. And if that won't still do, a heartfelt prayer for each of the persons you love would be much more important than any material gifts they would receive.