Bible Center Church

As our extended family began to grow, choosing appropriate gifts for each other at Christmastime became more and more difficult. By the time our nephews and nieces matured into young adults, buying gifts had actually become a chore.

Then the young folk in our family began to prefer money instead of gifts, and my husband Ted and I realized we were way out of touch with their material wants and needs. The fun of getting together at Christmas was gone. In its place was tension as we wondered whether the gifts we’d brought would be welcomed, and we dreaded opening our own packages because, most of the time, we either exchanged them or gave them away. We suspected it was the same with the rest of the family as well.

Someplace along the way, the whole Christmas scene had lost its meaning. We began to explore the possibility that there might be a better way to celebrate this important holiday. So, we had a family conference to discuss how our time together could be made more joyful.

Surprisingly, everyone agreed that gift-giving had gotten out of hand, and surely there was a more heartwarming way to celebrate the wonderful holiday. From that meeting came the decision to stop gift-giving altogether. We would, instead, find some way to spend meaningful time together, knowing it would be a challenge since all of us were so busy. But we wanted warm memories, not gifts, so we decided to make the change “cold turkey” and see how it would work out.

That was decades ago. Now we have time to reflect on the reason why we celebrate Dec. 25: the babe born in Bethlehem a little more than two thousand years ago. God, who loved the world so much that he came to earth in human form so that all who believe in him shall have eternal life, is the reason for the season.

Some of my fondest memories of Christmases past are of the table my mother prepared for her family each year. Conversation was lively as my stepfather carved the turkey, while Mom passed around mashed potatoes (loaded with milk and butter), as well as a half dozen other scrumptious dishes and salads galore. The meal was finished off with her special pumpkin pie. Christmas Day was spent as an extended family unit together, exchanging stories of the funny things that had happened to each of us and thanking the Lord for his goodness.

Because Mom enjoyed cooking so much, she rarely, if ever, ate out at a restaurant. Several years ago when Humphrey’s was in its prime, I took her for a holiday luncheon there, just the two of us. She spent an hour after the meal enjoying the antiques in the restaurant and listening to the wind-up birds sing in their cages. It was a memory she treasured for the rest of her life.

Many of our times together have been filled with adventure. One year we took our two nephews on an overnight camping-fishing trip to Cranberry Glades. Ted and the boys cleaned the fish they caught, and I fried them over an open fire. There was great satisfaction in the fact that with temperatures near freezing and snow on the ground, we were able to keep a fire going and the camp warm at night. Another time Ted and I found ourselves at the General Lewis Inn in Lewisburg, stranded for three days by an unexpected storm. We walked in snow so deep it covered our boots to a Christmas Eve candlelight service at The Old Stone Church. Not knowing a soul there, we joined our voices with theirs in songs of praise and felt right at home.

Our no-gift policy was so successful that some of our family have extended it to other holidays and birthdays as well. Even Ted and I stopped giving gifts to each other on special days. Instead, we set that time aside to be with each other. As I look back over those special times, I remember enjoying long walks through the woods, sailing along coastlines, climbing mountains to see the sunrise, and enjoying quiet dinners in front of a fireplace.

My most treasured Christmas gift of all was “No gifts please.” Give me those memories anytime. If I need a toaster, I’ll buy it myself.