Christmas day is just a few days away and I had a few things I had to pick up at the last minute. Since I haven’t had much time to shop this year, I decided to enlist the help of my favorite elf. It was the best time of my life! This elf knows how to get things done at the last minute, and she is excellent at keeping me in check when I go overboard, but most of all, she knows what Christmas is about. As we shopped, this elf reminded me that Christmas isn’t about what you receive, or even how much you receive, but instead about the thoughts behind your gifts. Oh I won’t lie- we danced in the aisles! We sang until we could sing no more, and we pranced around in funny holiday hats until we could shop no more. We had a great time and that is our tradition. This elf and I are very close- but we don’t buy gifts for one another. We buy things for the children who are less fortunate. And we have a blast doing it.
Many people are shocked that I have seven kids. Apparently that isn’t the norm these days. And when it comes to remembering what Christmas is about, these kids know. They ask me every year to adopt a child for Christmas, and I am lucky that we can. I always stop to think- what if this was my child? A child who just needed a Christmas. How much would it mean to me for a stranger to come along and pick up the tab simply to put a smile on my child’s face during the holidays? It would mean the world. And I know this first hand.
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Learning What Christmas is about
A few years ago, unforeseen circumstances made it impossible for me to even buy Christmas dinner for my kids, let alone gifts. I remember how empty I felt knowing that my kids would talk to more fortunate friends soon after Christmas, and they would return to school to hear about the gifts these other kids had received. I was so worried that my kids would feel like they were bad kids- or worse yet- had done something wrong and Santa had passed them by. For me, and for them, we learned what Christmas is about that year.
While other kids were receiving expensive electronics and designer clothes for Christmas, one of my daughters received an electric blanket from a friend of mine to help keep the chill off during the frigid winter nights. She was about 12. She was ecstatic. Some of my other kids received second hand clothing, coats and shoes. You would have thought they had won the lottery! Although the base of our meager little tree was filled with practical items that year, my kids were grateful. They reminded me that we already had the best gift of all- and it was something a lot of more fortunate kids didn’t have. We had each other.
