$450 billion. Americans spend about $450 billion on Christmas each year.
Way back when we started our family, we didn’t know this number. But, we knew we wanted to “do gifts” a bit differently for our family.
We decided we wanted gifts to mean something.
When we were pregnant with our first child who is now almost 10 (gasp!), we decided we’d use gift giving as a teachable moment for our children.
And, so, we give them 3 gifts. That’s it. 3 gifts. From us. Not from Santa. From Mom and Dad.
These three gifts symbolize those of the wise men. And, each year, before we open gifts, we read the story and remind the children about the wise men and the gifts they brought to baby Jesus, the incarnate God.
The wise men brought Jesus myrrh.
Myrrh was a valuable gift of practical use–it was used medicinally for all sorts of ailments from coughs to open wounds. It was a good gift to bring a mother of a new baby. And, in addition to daily use, it was used for embalming and anointing the dead. And, so, it was a prophetic gift, already setting up the Gospel story from the beginning. God’s son would have to die.
Our children’s first gift is a practical gift, something they need and can use daily–a piece of clothing, some sheets for their bed, something like that.
The wise men brought Jesus frankincense.
Frankincense is the purest form of incense and was primarily used in worship. When burned, the white smoke and sweet smell it produces is a symbol of our prayers going up to heaven and creates a meaningful experience for everyone present. It’s a symbolic gift, pointing to Jesus fully being God, Emmanuel, God with us, the only one worthy of our worship.
Our children’s second gift, likewise, is an experiential gift, something not tangible but something meaningful to us as a family–tickets to a theater show, a coupon for a night out with Daddy for ice cream sundaes, a night out at the ball park, something like that.
The wise men brought Jesus gold.
Gold was as valuable then as it is now. It was a precious gift, one that some say financed the family’s trip to Egypt. But, it was also a very symbolic gift in that gold was given to princes when they were born. And, that is what Jesus is–royalty, a King in the line of David, King of the world, King of our hearts. When we become a follower of Jesus, we are adopted into God’s family and we too become princes and princesses, heirs to the throne. We don’t deserve it; no matter how good we are, we won’t ever be good enough to deserve it. But, because of Jesus, God sees us like He sees His own Son. And, we become like Him.
Our children’s third and last gift is a gold gift, something they really really want. Sometimes these gifts are a little more costly–like a lego set (shhhh….). And, sometimes, they really aren’t costly at all, but just something we know they really want, something that is like gold to them. And, we just want to give it to them because we love them and want to bless them.
Of course, they have grandparents, all of whom dote on our children. And, now that they are older, we let them choose small gifts for each other that they pay for with their chore money (which is a teachable moment in an of itself). So, yes, they do get more than 3 gifts. Deprived they are not.
And, we know we are doing what we can to set them up to understand that Christmas is not simply about Rudolph, sparkly trees, cookies and milk, and boxes wrapped up with fancy bows.
It’s about Jesus.
