Our lists pile up with temporary, feel-good items: a new winter fleece, massage and pedicure, striped tie, remote control racecar, life-sized baby doll, homemade fudge, a mason jar DIY pinterest find with matching tag.
Giving gifts to our loved ones is a good and right way to celebrate Christmas. But we have to admit that on that first Christmas morning long ago, mankind received the best gift we could ever hope for. Fuzzy, polka-dot socks kind of pale in comparison to the gift of God, Emmanuel, here with us—to offer nearness in friendship, redemption of sins, sacrifice on our behalf, eternal life in heaven.
Since this gift is still ours for the taking and ours for the sharing, let’s stop giving our friends shiny wrapped lip gloss sets. Let’s give them something that proclaims this meaningful, precious truth.
Our friend Kathryn decided on a creative and fun way to give gifts of meaning. She hosted seven of her closest friends (in their pajamas—so fun!) for a Christmas dinner gift exchange.
Instead of getting each of them a monogrammed mug, she laid one name of Jesus, beautifully designed on an ornament, across each setting. For dinner conversation the women each read their name of Jesus and shared how they had personally seen this characteristic of Him played out in their lives. At Kathryn’s setting was Prince of Peace, so she recounted a recent time she had worried and wrestled over a family challenge. She traded her worry for peace at the feet of Jesus, our Prince of Peace.
Each guest took home the ornament at her place setting, receiving a meaningful, truth-filled gift that inspires worship of the first-ever, best-ever Christmas gift.
Here are a few other ways to give a gift that changes a heart but doesn’t break the bank!
- Grab a pack of Adorenaments. Take your pick: His Christmas Names, His Savior Names, His Royal Names, His Advent Names or His Eternal Names. You can host your own dinner, using the ornaments as Kathryn did to begin meaningful conversations around The Gift with neighbors, friends, co-workers or family. You can tie a note around an ornament to leave on a teacher’s desk. You might even leave an ornament in your mailbox, addressed to your faithful postman. With 7 ornaments per set, this one package turns into 7 meaningful gifts for about $6/person.
- Pick up The Twelve Names of Christmas for any kids on your list. Kids will get their own set of colorful, glittered ornaments to hang while they listen to the read-aloud book sharing the Christmas story.
- Try the King of Kings charm for the woman in your life who likes a little bling. This charm can adorn any necklace or bracelet for reminders of truth throughout the day and is an easy conversation starter.
- Check out His Name Among the Nations, our ornament set from 2015. Five per pack make these easy inexpensive and meaningful gifts too. Try it for the other dance moms, your aerobics teacher, your daughter’s piano teacher. Mail one to a distant relative. Keep one for yourself!
The secret to gift giving is to give something that is lasting, filled with meaning and truth. Besides, usually those lip gloss sets don’t include that one and only color your friend has been wearing since 1980. Am I right?
