Sunset Bay, Charleston, Oregon

If Christmas shopping isn’t hectic enough, try shopping with everyone you are going to shop for there with you. Our youngest wondered how it work out. We explained it was possible because we had done it before when the kids were younger. It was fun to watch him think through who he wanted to purchase for and how to go about doing so with the money he had. He spent his paycheck and the money from grandma and grandpa for Christmas on presents. My husband and I also pitched in to help him out. In the end, he had bought gifts that would mean something to the recipient.

Christmas morning dawned with the usual excitement. Before breakfast, my husband and I wrapped gifts and put them under the tree. When I woke up our thirteen year old, he commented, “That’s a change. The parents wake the kid up on Christmas morning!” After breakfast, I helped him wrap his gifts. Then his older brother wrapped the one gift for our youngest. The joy of watching as people unwrapped what had been bought or made with care filled the room.

When all was said and done, my youngest came to me and quoted words from the Christmas play he had performed. The scene portrayed two modern day kids with a Bible time shepherd boy. The shepherd boy tries to understand the world the kids come from. He doesn’t understand how they can have so much and there can be people who have nothing. My son’s character then sang a song called Snowfall by local playwright, Neal Davis. The song tells how the homeless sit outside on a step longing for what happens inside through the window.

“Inside we share presents and gifts we don’t need.
We always want more, but we don’t call it greed.
We sing happy carols and thank God above,
forgetting that those without homes need our love
As the snow falls.”

My thirteen year old came up to me with a grin on his face saying, “We don’t want more, because we’re satisfied, and we don’t call it greed.” He was right. We were satisfied. He had given of what he had for others and felt the joy of giving.

Hopefully, you too have felt that joy. If you haven’t it is never too late. Think of one person you can give something to. It doesn’t have to be much or even cost much, as long as the person knows you thought of him or her.

The first student to fall and have to bring a surprise brought in homemade cookies for the class. The next brought in a box of CapriSuns. The students appreciated these surprises, and it made for a fun day. After that, the students have become even more creative. They have brought in surprises that were free.

A seventh grader took me back in time to when my grandpa was still alive. My grandpa fought in WWII on a navy ship in the Pacific. One day, a lone fighter jet followed the airplanes back to the ship and let loose one bomb and skedaddled back to his base. That one bomb hit the munitions dump and blew things to pieces. My grandpa received shrapnel in his hand and had a scar to prove it for the rest of his life. A little seventh grader brought that story to life by bringing in a shell casing from a WWII ship gun.

This last week, after a boss battle that caused several students on one team to fall in battle, a student shared one by one how she appreciated each student. She told of fun times in volleyball, good times to come in basketball, and shared experiences through the years. With each telling, she looked the person directly in the eyes and relived the memories.

Both of these last two acts cost nothing but time and thought. The one took the time to double check that he could bring something to school. His treat brought history alive for his class and his teacher. The other cost a bit of humility to get up in front of the class and talk from the heart. It also took a bit of thinking to decide what would be meaningful for each and every student and the teacher. These are both gifts that can be shared this holiday season.

As we think of Black Friday and the gift giving season, think of those gifts that cost nothing. Sometimes this are worth more than those that cost a fortune. What can you give today that is free? Will you take the time to share memories of times past to make history come alive for a younger generation? Will you tell someone what you appreciate about him or her? These are simple and yet profound gifts. Gifts that anyone can give.