A Visit from the Ghost of Christmas Presents

Over the years I've had some fun throwing kids off track around the holiday season just by asking them to answer a simple question that sounds familiar, but isn't. I recommend you try it; the answers are always great and lead to interesting, meaningful conversations. Ask a child what gift he or she is really looking forward to giving this year for Christmas. 

Don't be surprised if the child answers first with "huh?", and the need for you to repeat or explain what you're asking. What gift are you, or would you, really like to give somebody you care about this year? Then talk about the joy of giving a gift that is carefully chosen. Isn't it true that when people tell stories of meaningful gifts, those stories aren't typically of the flashiest gifts, or the most expensive, or the fad of the day, but they are stories of gifts that have been chosen carefully, with love and great consideration? I know it's true for me.

So when it comes to giving gifts I try to follow two simple rules. The first comes from an essay my high school English teacher gave me to read in 1986, written by Ralph Waldo Emerson in 1844, which contained the wisdom that "the only gift is a portion of thyself", and "the majesty of love is the genius and god of gifts." When selecting a gift to give I try to think of the connection I have with the person to whom I am bestowing a gift, and to honor that connection. If you feel love when picking out a gift, it is almost certain the person receiving it will feel that love. Too often gifts are rushed, bought for the lack of another idea, or part of a mass frenzy of shopping, wrapping, unwrapping, and setting in the pile. Don't get me wrong, I have been guilty of this one, too, on both sides of the transaction. Gifts given, or received, without enough of the spirit of Christmas.

The second rule is I try to follow is to keep it local as much as possible. I lived in Kalamazoo for fifteen years, including years in college when I hardly had two nickels to rub together. But even back then I understood that as a member of that community, I had a responsibility to that community, and I would spend a day in the shops of downtown Kalamazoo looking for gifts that fit my budget that would support the stores and storekeepers that keep that downtown vibrant.

Now that I live in Gobles, I try to buy gifts from the shops of Gobles, for the same reason I did when I lived in Kalamazoo. The shops of Gobles deserve to be the first place I look, and I commit to buying at least one, and hopefully more, of the gifts on my list in the town I call home. I ask you to consider doing the same, wherever you call home. We have some great shops and restaurants in Gobles, and they give so much to the community, to the school, and to keeping our city streets clean, safe, and dynamic.

If everyone committed to buying at least one gift locally this season, the towns we call home would really benefit. Call them gifts that keeps on giving, as healthy stores and restaurants provide jobs, taxes, and a sense of community.

Children learn from the example set for them. Ask them what they want to give, and they get the message that giving is as enjoyable as receiving. Shop with them in local stores and they learn a lesson in community. Share the majesty of love a portion of thyself, as Emerson recommended way back in 1844, and our children receive the spirit of Christmas with every package they open. 

Note: This blog post is from a series originally published as personal essays written for the Van Buren County Advertiser from 2008-2014 by Corey Harbaugh under the title It's All Good. The It's All Good columns were written to feature and celebrate life in and around Gobles, Michigan.