I recently wrote this as an email to grandparents - -thanking them for pledging money so the boys could do a charity walk .. and after reading it, thought a good chunk sounded like a nice blog. So here it is:
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It’s good for them to get involved with the “giving” part of Christmas. We’re really trying to get across the real meaning – that God gave his greatest gift to us .. and that’s why we give on Christmas. We’ve been trying to get the right answer when we ask what Christmas is about. Kyle, of course, wanted to know if Santa was in Bethlehem. We told him no, but that Santa is carrying out the Spirit of giving that began that day in Bethlehem. It was a good opportunity to push the “Santa is the Christmas Spirit” idea … for when someone starts to have doubts.
Anyway, back to giving: Jack – who, I don’t think we’ve mentioned – ran for and was elected to Student Council – got to go shopping for a 5 year old in need. He was really happy to pick out things he thought the child would like. I’m glad he got to have that experience – and without a nagging parent as the person pushing him to be involved.
We’ve also explained, that this is why we take turns opening gifts on Christmas morning – because we’ve put heart and effort into making special purchases, and the pay-off is getting to see the recipient’s reaction. (And the suspense is a kick too!) They get very excited when they’ve made a gift at school – and can’t wait for us to open it … and get so excited to see our reaction. When we reminded them that it’s like that, they seemed to get it.
Our boys are growing up! And we’re so proud that they’re starting to get it. Of course, they’ll still be raving lunatics Christmas morning.
Baby steps.
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