Time: The Perfect Christmas Gift

Written by Rhonda Delph

Year after year I find myself in the same predicament: December arrives and my family’s hectic pace increases dramatically. Midst the long-awaited days of celebrating our Savior’s birth, I’m overextended and overscheduled, and my family and I are in no mood to experience holiday joy, much less squeeze in quality family time.

We could easily place the blame on the media and the greeting-card industry. I can never reproduce those picture-perfect scenes of festive family meals, snow-laden winter landscapes, and joyous gift exchanges. Most years, I’m in a mad dash until Christmas Eve; I’m still decorating on the 26th; and a white Christmas is rarely forecast for my region.

So how could I not say yes to one more holiday celebration? With family get-togethers, work parties, church functions, choir rehearsals, and presentations, the family calendar soon becomes overloaded. And that doesn’t even include the normal family routine, or decorating, baking, shopping, and gift wrapping!

What’s a family to do?

Determine now to make this December “family month” and set a few boundaries. What better time to begin new traditions and improve the standard goings-on? Change the way your family approaches the season and embrace this blessed holiday in a peaceful, Christ-honoring way while increasing the quality of time you spend together. Here are a few suggestions:

Take control of the calendar. Even when closely attended, schedules can fill to overflowing. Reserve a few days of vacation at the end of the year to add more hours to the holidays. Learn to politely say, “Thanks, but we can’t.” Don’t be pressured by social expectations. Prioritize the activities your family must participate in, and set and guard specific dates for designated family times.

Use the off button. Strongly consider turning off pagers, cellular phones, televisions, CD players, and computers during family times. Take advantage of the answering machine and caller ID. Respectfully ask that family members curtail activities that involve electronics for individual use. Postpone surfing the Web and checking e-mail. With the exception of planned viewing of special holiday programs, limit television viewing. Rent or record old favorites for family viewing.

Seize precious time. Create memories for your family while making routine tasks special. Take a break from the stress of holiday preparations by including family members in the tasks. You not only receive assistance, you also bring more joy into the activities and create memories.

Give the gift of yourselves. Christmas is traditionally a time when philanthropic efforts abound. While yearlong giving is preferable, families should also consider giving of themselves during the holidays.

Check into opportunities for caroling at a retirement home or helping to serve meals in a soup kitchen. Offer to babysit for a single parent. Open your home to busy friends. Share a meal with someone whose family lives far away, and continue that effort throughout the year. Encourage your children to collect loose change for December’s Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions. After your kids have finished making their Christmas wish lists, help them sort through their current belongings. Give good used items to local charities.

Your church may be a good source for other volunteer ideas. Check locally for activities such as helping in a holiday store for needy families. Or take the ultimate challenge, and find a mission project in which the whole family can be involved.

Have fun with photographs and home videos. Pull out photo albums and videos of recent Christmases and even those from your own childhood. Reminisce with your family about your experiences as a child and Christmases you’ve spent together. Remember to keep a camera handy throughout the holidays to continue recording those endearing memories.

Deck the halls together. Whether simple, extravagant, or somewhere in between, holiday decorating can be a family-centered endeavor. If you put up a Christmas tree, consider purchasing one that can be planted in your yard as a living memento. Hang outdoor lights. Family activities can be as simple as crafting ornaments or table decorations each year. Remember, it’s not perfection you’re after; it’s joyous family memories.

Shop, but don’t drop. Christmas presents are fun to receive, but shopping for them takes time. Consider choosing to limit overall spending, thereby reducing shopping time. If possible, buy throughout the year to shorten your December shopping list. Involve the whole family in gift selections for others. Prior to the season, engage them in poring through specialty catalogs in a mail-order party. By thinking creatively, you can demonstrate and teach stewardship and choose gifts the recipients will appreciate and enjoy.

Wrapping your purchases is an easy, creative activity the family can do together. Whether you purchase decorative paper or gift bags, or personalize your own paper or unique containers, the time spent together can be fun and fulfilling.

You’ve got mail. If you typically send cards or letters, plan to enlist the family’s help and tackle the task early next year. Children enjoy making cards or simply sealing envelopes with seasonal stickers or rubber-stamp greetings.

When composing your family letter, include portions written by the whole family. And for a different twist, try mailing your family letter at another time of the year, a change that can add more precious time.

Make opening Christmas greetings from others an exciting aspect of each day. Even preschoolers will enjoy opening cards from friends and relatives and hearing about who sent them.

Baking is always in good taste. Consider tailoring your baking plans to include family-friendly recipes and treats that can be made by small hands. Remember that making the messes is part of making the memories! There’ll be another year for that complicated recipe you’ve been wanting to try.

Come on, we’re going for a sleigh ride! No matter the weather, Christmastime affords families with lots of activities to please the senses. From living nativity scenes to civic- or corporate-sponsored seasonal displays, you can enjoy many presentations from the convenience of the family car. You can enjoy church plays and concerts or splurge for Nutcracker tickets. Many communities hold Christmas parades. And the easiest of all is to take a family drive to “ooh” and “aah” over outdoor lighting decorations in your neighborhood. Check the newspaper for other holiday happenings in your community.

So, put on your thinking cap and look for ways to make great family memories. Little by little, your family can turn the tables on holiday madness and experience joy in the real meaning of the season. Just keep your loved ones in focus and create your own "perfect" holiday scene.

Rhonda Delph is a copy editor with LifeWay Christian Resources.

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