What is your true meaning of Christmas?

Christmas is an unusual time of year.  Although the actual day is one like any other, with the sun rising and setting, it has attached to it many centuries of tradition and custom, as well as many new ones which aren’t so great.  People like to be with their family and friends during this time and feel all warm and fuzzy, but for some it can also highlight loss, loneliness, regret, detachment etc.

As we are all on the cusp of another December, now is an opportune time to take a moment and think about what sort of Christmas you would like to have this year.  With the current financial situation that the world is in and what seems to be a global shift towards ‘getting back to basics’ it is a great time to reassess your attitude over the last few Christmases and see if it still is how you wish to live.

By not thinking consciously about this time of year and your habits, it is all too easy to slip back into patterns that have been performed in years previously.  For many this Christmas, circumstances are, shall we say, altered – either financially or emotionally.  If you are one of the lucky ones who have not been too affected financially then you will almost certainly have been affected emotionally; a gross display of wealth is no longer seen as tasteful nor is excessive waste or frivolity.  Many are choosing to celebrate the festive season along more traditional, thoughtful, ecological and/or nurturing lines.

Do you know someone who may be feeling lonely or isolated this Christmas?  Could you ask them to your dinner or call on them in the run up to Christmas.  Let them know they are being thought of, that you have appreciated small things they may have done for you during the year or give them a present of your time.  Everyone likes opening their presents at Christmas but did you ever think of giving non material presents?

• ~ A voucher for something you know the recipient has always wanted to do, go or see
• ~ A token for you to babysit for an evening each month for the year to new parents
• ~ Telling a Grandparent you will call for lunch each month for the year
• ~ Offering a day or a few afternoons of labour to someone
• ~ Offering to be ‘chef’ &‘chief bottle washer’ at a dinner party for them &their friends

Often gifts like these are more welcome than an unwanted material gift which might end up in a drawer or given as a present to someone else!  If you usually give more than one gift then make one material and one non material.  The gift of your time is often more appreciated.

It’s important to devote some time and thought into what you think they would like and find useful.  It is what the recipient would enjoy and value receiving not what you want to give them.  That way the gift is a true gift from your heart – a true gift of Christmas.

Enjoy

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Other postings you may enjoy reading:

Honouring your core values

Are you a participant or a bystander in your life?

Look for the oneness in others today

Simplicity can be simple

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