The Grinch: "That's what it's all about, isn't it? That's what it's always been about. Gifts, gifts...gifts gifts, gifts, gifts, gifts. You wanna know what happens to your gifts? They all come to me. In your garbage. You see what I'm saying? In your garbage. I could hang myself with all the bad Christmas neckties I found at the dump. And the avarice...[Shouts]...the avarice never ends! 'I want golf clubs.' 'I want diamonds.' 'I want a pony so I can ride it twice, get bored and sell it to make some glue.' Look, I don't wanna make waves, but this whole Christmas season is...[Shouts]...stupid, stupid, stupid!
As parents in today's materialistic, American environment, how do you maintain balance? How do you keep from over-spending? How do you prevent greed in your children?
Debbie and I went through foster-parenting classes in Maryland. There were about twelve couples in the class. We met weekly for several months. One evening, we began to get acquainted with an African-American couple; we had picked up that they might be Christians.
Imagine our surprise to discover that she was from my home town, New Brighton, Pennsylvania! I had graduated with her sister. We had fun reminiscing. We became quite close to them during the duration of the classes.
In one conversation, we talked about the upcoming Christmas season. We noticed a glance between the two of them - and asked about it. They giggled, then went on to tell us how they countered the effects of Christmas greed.
They taught their children from the beginning that Christmas wasn't about gifts, but about Jesus. Since Jesus was given three gifts at His birth (gold, frankincense, and myrrh), they would also receive three gifts. Every year, their children knew that there would be three carefully selected gifts under the tree for each of them!
Hey folks! There are ways to combat materialism.
We started with the Grinnch - let's finish there, too.
The Grinch: "How could this be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags!"Be creative! Find a way to make Christmas be about more than the gifts!
There is one really neat idea I first heard about from Glenn Beck a couple years ago. Maybe you've heard about it, too, but it's something fun that a whole family can participate in that focuses on the joy of giving. It could become a new tradition that begins on January 1st for Christmas 2012. Keep a change jar out all year and anytime you are out and see change lying on the ground or have a pocketful by the end of the day, put it in the jar when you get home. (It's a fun way to keep the family engaged all year long by being on a non-stop "treasure" hunt.) You'd be suprised by how much change you can collect in a year! (I'm sure you've seen them out, but I bought one for Brian last year that has a digital counter in it so every time you put another coin in the slot it gives you a basic read out of how much is actually in there so far.) Glenn's story then continues with trying as a family to find someone - or several people, depending on how much you've collected - in the neighborhood, or someone you know in need who could really use the money. But the really fun part happens on Christmas Eve! You all go to where they live and quietly - this part would be hard, because giggles of delight would surely be close to the surface ready to burst - leave the money for them on their front porch or inside their screen door in the gussied-up Christmas jar with a note that says, "Merry Christmas! Jesus loves you!" If you are really brave, you can knock on the door then all run and hide until they get it and then sneak away. During the holidays a couple hundred dollars - and yes, that is an easily achieved goal by the end of the year - to someone who really needs it could make a HUGE impact on their lives! ~ Jen :-)
ReplyDeleteSweet idea! Thanks for sharing! Have I mentioned that you need to be blogging? :-) Hal
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