November 30, 2006

'Tis the Season

I'm almost done with the Christmas shopping. It's amazing how little I've had to do for the kids, now that Husband and I have come to a mutual decision.

What'd we decide? Brace yourselves, this is pretty controversial: we're going to focus more on the birth of Christ than on a ton of gifts.

(It's at this point that I wait for the ACLU to barge in for violating the younglings' civil rights, followed by Childrens Services alledging child abuse.)

Seriously, though, let's face it. These days Christmas is just another holiday; an excuse to take time off from work and school, go to parties and get tanked, and exchange expensive and tacky gifts. What's wrong with focusing more on the reason for the season? My kids sure aren't going to see it in the malls or the public squares.

Maybe I sound self-righteous, but Husband and I both want to give our kids that spiritual grounding. We take them to church, talk with them, read to them. We both want the kids to know more about Christmas than Santa and his reindeer.

We are giving gifts to our kids. Just not so much. And they have to give in order to get. Yep, whether they donate their toys, or brand new ones, they're going to learn that it's just as important to help out the kids that don't have the kind of life they do.

And we say MERRY CHRISTMAS!