Skip to main content

The weight of Christmas presents and a reflection on Christmases past.

This week I’ve been traipsing through shop after shop with my eyes peeled to see if I can spot items which qualify as worthy candidates for Christmas presents. I must say that yesterday I almost gave up under the pressure. There is such pressure! Not from those I am buying presents for, most of them don’t even have a wish list, but from society. There is such pressure to buy more, buy better, and buy more expensive. It almost gets a bit much sometimes. I suddenly realized that presents are probably one of the main stresses of Christmas. What do you buy for people who have everything, and who if they need something simply go out and buy it? I mean there is a limit to how much you can spend in an attempt to upgrade whatever electronic gadget they last acquired. And with all of this on my shoulders I almost wish we could just forget about the presents. Don’t get me wrong, I like both getting and giving presents, but it’s just a bit much. And it totally takes the focus away from the real reason why we celebrate Christmas.

Sat here I reflect on the past two years when I’ve spent this wonderful (I do like the Christmas season) time of year in Fortaleza, among the palm trees, and among less present-pressure (as in pressure to buy presents, not pressure in the now).

The first year I remember going out on Christmas Eve to the local corner shop (which was actually a 10 minute drive away), where I bought some chocolate which I wrapped and placed under our plastic Christmas tree on the farm, so that the boys would have at least one Christmas present. They were so grateful, bless them, and many of them saved the chocolate to give to their families later. And I remember Christmas Eve having to (pray for multiplication!) make one turkey feed 30 people for Christmas dinner. It went all right and I think everyone went away satisfied, but I so wished I’d been able to give more to them.

Last year there was more abundance, and I remember us cooking up a huge banquet of a meal for Christmas Eve dinner and having everyone who wanted to come to the farm, where we all squashed ourselves together around a big table ready to dig in to the feast which we’d spent the whole day preparing. We had lots of different meats and salads and varying accompaniments, I think amidst the uncertainty of how many we were actually cooking for, we went a bit overboard. But it was so lovely to be able offer a feast fit for a king as we celebrated the birth of the King.

Which takes us to this year. The presents are bought, and even if I still have this sense in my stomach that I haven’t bought enough and spent enough, I refuse to bow under the pressure. I guess I could have gone for the more “people friendly” gifts, such a giving a donation to come charitable cause, but to be quite honest I left it too long, and now it’s a bit late.

So, I think (as I always think when I come to this time of year) that I will start my Christmas shopping in January next year. And till them I will try to leave the pressure behind me and enjoy being close to family at this family time of the year.

Popular posts from this blog

Small moments that mean a lot

Walking home on the crunchy snow that lights up a December evening,  I felt so thankful. The revelation that fellowship and being together is the best gift you can give someone, and realising that although it might seem small, it can turn into something big when a person feels seen and valued.  Yesterday I helped out with a crafts workshop for a group of lovely women volunteering for Crux where I worked before (well, in all honesty: they were making angels while I ate Christmas cookies, Quality Street chocolate, and chatted). I love walking alongside people in conversation, and realise sharing life for 2 hours can last so much longer in value and experience.  This evening we had our Christmas dinner for volunteers and people who are part of my current job. It was a delightful evening with many nations gathered around the same table…. eating the same food… and for a few hours creating a small fellowship moment that will become a good memory for the future. Often in my job ...

Taking in the familiar and a heart connected.

Amsterdam. It still has that muggy feeling in Summer, and a constant flow of people which if you stop to think about it, it's quite amazing that there would even be space to accommodate them all. But then I guess they are not all staying. Just passing through on their way to or from somewhere. It's always good for the heart to visit somewhere that was once home. The familiarity of streets and customs makes it easier to embrace what might be new as well as the joy of being reacquainted with old friends. Friends. So many of them to be found in this city, ready with hugs and good words that are uttered when seeing someone who was away again. Friendship. A treasure that cannot be bought. Cobblestones trodden by many, including myself. Sitting on a bench. Praying. Remembering the first time I stumbled upon this area lined with windows with red lights and curtains. An area which has come to represent no longer windows, but people to me. Some still behind a window. Others who have ...

So what is new in Kansas City?

“Not much”, I think is the answer. Although, that’s not quite correct, I’ve had quite an adventurous weekend (in the mildest sense of the word). Let me see, where do I start? Well, Thursday when I last wrote was really good. I got to join with a team for a bit in the evening, which was really good fun and it lifted my spirits as I am totally a team person! The whole week had been quite tense because of adjustments with our household and people coming and going. On Saturday two of the girls I shared with were moving out and since Friday night they were packing, my other housemate and I went shopping. We figured it was easier to not get caught up in the chaos that packing to move houses is. It was fun to go shopping, even if we only went to Wall-Mart and HyVee (big grocery and other thing shops). We got a few bits and pieces for the house to make it more homely and generally just had fun looking at all the stuff they have. We’d decided that when the other girls had moved we’d do a big cl...