I gave my kids *NO*THING* for Christmas!

Maybe it was the full-blown meltdown my son had over the dentist giving him a free toothbrush with the *wrong* character on it...

 Maybe it was the constant de-junking, and the realization that managing the "stuff" in our house is a major time-sucker...

Maybe it was because our tree already looked like this...

...without us having to put ONE SINGLE present under it.

...for TWO children!!

...but I just couldn't do it. I couldn't even THINK of anything to buy my kids for Christmas. Our adoring relatives had already filled every inch of space under the Christmas tree (and then some).

So, I didn't give my kids any.thing. for Christmas!

I probably sound like the biggest Grinch on the planet right now.

But really, it is because I love Christmas, and because  I am so grateful for all we receive that I decided we needed to do something different this year. And yes, we did give them something for Christmas, we just gave them no things.

With my husband's (reluctant) approval, we decided to give our kids the gift of... service.
What better way to celebrate the birth and life of our Savior, right?

Right???

My husband was actually pretty sure that it would ruin Christmas. The potential for whining, foot-dragging, and the like was undeniable, but my sweet husband lent me his support anyway. (I love that he always backs me up, even when he's not sure if I'm right). The truth is, we had no idea how our kids would react, but we were committed.

They woke up Christmas morning and saw this:

 

Inside, they found this letter:

Dear {kids},

This Christmas, we thought and thought about what we could give you to make Christmas special. We knew that anything we might have bought at the store simply wouldn’t be good enough. We exchange gifts on Christmas day because the wise men honored Jesus with gifts, and because we remember the precious gifts our Savior has given to us, and because we want to show others that we love them. As we thought about this, we realized that nothing we could ever buy you would truly show you how much we love you. We want to give you more than just things...



The letter went on to explain that each of the 5 packages contained in the bag would give them an opportunity to serve someone so we could celebrate Christmas in the best way possible. I have to admit, there were no squeals of joy... but then again there were no stink-eyes either... and they actually seemed excited to see what was inside the packages.

Here's what our gifts of service were this year:

#1 Making a puzzle ball ornament for a far-away relative.

#2 Making treats and delivering them to neighbors who were alone on Christmas morning.

#3 Making hugs and letters for kids from sendkidstheworld.com.

#4 Gift certificates to a local excursion & instructions to invite someone who needs a friend.

#5 Planning a family day (after all, one of the best places to serve is within your own family :)

In our letter to our kids, we had written how we hoped that these gifts of service would give them greater joy than any present we had ever given them before... Did it work??

Well, I guess that depends on how you define joy. There was never any unrestrained squealing, and at the beginning there was a hint of impatience to get to the presents... BUT as we worked together as a family and thought about others, the smiles grew bigger and bigger. Even my husband said it went way better than he expected, and for a moment or two we actually forgot about the pile of the presents waiting for us under the tree. And as shocking as it was to all of us, my kids actually asked if we would get to do this every year!

We finally opened gifts around 2pm... and we saw something we didn't expect. Almost every time they opened a gift, my kids started talking about who else would like that gift, and making plans for how they could share their presents. hmm. I can't claim that this was a direct result of our morning of Christmas service... but maybe it didn't hurt either.

I love Christmas so. much! One of my favorite parts of Christmas is that special feeling that comes from the love, thoughtfulness, and giving that occurs so frequently at this time of year. I am convinced that feeling comes because we are celebrating Christ by being more like Him. There are so many ways to do this and I don't think there is any right or wrong way. This year we simply tried a new way. Our gifts of service helped us to feel more of that "spirit" of Christmas, and I am very grateful for that experience. I'm not saying I will never buy my kids a Christmas present again, but I will definitely make sure there is at least one gift of service under the tree every year.

After all, they did ask for it! Why not give them what they want for Christmas?

Deficits: We may not be "squealing" about service...
Deposits: but we are smiling about service! :)

Balance: Richly Blessed!