Presence Versus Presents

This year during the Advent season our church is stressing the importance of giving "presence" versus "presents". It is not to say that we should never buy any gifts for anyone but instead intentionally think about gifts for people that help build relationships. As the video from Advent Conspiracy says we spend 450 billion dollars on just Christmas gifts here in the states. We are a society addicted to busyness but in the meantime our relationships with spouses, children, family and friends suffer. Does any of this buy us the happiness that we crave?

Instead of giving the sweater they are going to return or another toy for the child who already has too many, why not think of something different this year-your time. We spend so much time running around trying to "buy" the perfect Christmas when all most people want is "you"-especially our children. So, this year think about some gifts where you can give your time. Here are some examples to get you started.

-taking an afternoon and making Christmas cookies with your child
-volunteering a specific number of hours at your friends favorite charity
-offering coupons for free babysitting to a family with young children or a special needs child (maybe even include a restaurant gift certificate so they can go on a date together)
-coupons to shovel snow, rake leaves, etc for someone who cannot do it themselves
-cook a home cooked meal once a month for a busy family  
-take your friend out for coffee, breakfast or lunch. Spend time catching up on what is going on in their lives. Better yet have them over to your house for an afternoon of catching up 
-have your friend over and bake Christmas cookies together. Split the finished product between the two of you when you are done.
-spend an afternoon creating homemade gifts with your children for their family members
-have a friend over and make some gifts together.
-buy a boardgame for a family that they can all play together and enjoy

As you can see from the examples, the emphasis is not on how much "money" but how much "time" that you spend. I hope these examples get your creative juices running. I am sure you can come up with many more. Please share your ideas in the comment section. We will all benefit from them.