By Glen Turner – Special to the Sydenham Current
A hardened cynic once described Christmas as ‘The Joyous Season – of excesses, when so many have so little.’
It was true then, and may be even more true now.
Some research shows that, for this year, we’ll spend $805.65 on average on Christmas gifts (U.S. numbers).
Wow – that’s a lot.
Luckily, many people I know are making homemade gifts, and trying to personalize their store-bought gifts.
I do that myself. Instead of heading to the liquor store and filling up a cart with gifts of wine, I try to get the bottles signed by the wine maker. It makes it a little more ‘personal.’
I’m lucky enough to be a fairly good Santa (I even have my own outfit), and I’ve been playing Santa for years. I like to lend the complete outfit to people who need it, no charge, to help with THEIR Christmas.
And… for the second year, I’m a “Mall Santa”!
Sure, I even get paid for it, but the fun I have, being part of Christmas for people I’ve never met, is… well… very hard to describe, except with a huge smile on my face.
I now have a ton of great stories to describe my experiences with infants, toddlers, older kids, and even teens when they come to share their time with a Santa like me.
Try these things before this Christmas.
Every time you see a Sally Ann kettle, just put in spare change. The amount doesn’t matter.
Every time you want to spend big bucks on a gift for someone, divide the amount by four, buy four smaller gifts, and give one of the four to charity. The 4th one will mean the most!
Last, consider using a giftwrap service, instead of buying giftwrap yourself. They’re usually run by charitable organizations, or groups that can use the donation for their own programs. You can help a lot that way.
Ok – a confession – that ‘hardened cynic’ I mentioned was me, back in my university days.
I guess I’m starting to mellow with age? 🙂
