‘Tis The Season

It’s a week to Christmas and the tinsels, decorations and trees are out albeit to a subdued extent compared to past years. Everywhere you look, you are bombarded with images of shoppers, bold red sale signs and last minute deals. These are reminders that this is the season for gift giving and indulgence. Millions of people can’t wait for Christmas to come for this reason.

Given the global economic crisis with rising cost of living, debilitating energy bills for the vulnerable, one can only wonder what some are going through in the lead up to this Christmas. The pressures of a gift-giving season might be too much for many people this year so maybe it’s time for a rethink for gift givers and gift receivers.

I was reading a blog post and came across the phrase, ‘tit-for-tat’ giving and the post concluded we end up with a lot of tat (whatever that means). It was my first time hearing that phrase but it immediately made sense to me. Some of our gift giving are simply born out of a tit-for-tat relationship so the process can easily become thoughtless as we gravitate towards what we already know works. We simply change the supplier of the hamper and, ‘voila’ action is completed.

The other side of our gift giving can also be just for loved ones, friends and close neighbours with many still resulting in tit-for-tat responses.

The best gifts are given out of a thoughtful process where we have had a chance to put ourselves in a person’s shoes or taken the time to know them enough to get what would be just right for them. They make a difference in people’s lives with some memories forever etched on their minds.

As I pondered this, I spoke with some people about what they would like to get for Christmas. One young lady said, ‘actually, all I want is quality time with my family; just eating and spending the day together is enough for me.’ She went on to add that if she really wanted or needed something, she would simply get it for herself.

I spoke to another person who felt the pressure slightly differently because her family went overboard with an exchange of a certain number of gifts per person. She clarified that they didn’t all have to be expensive but the volume meant for a stressful season.

For some reason this year, I have felt compelled to ask people about their gift giving plans because a part of me was fed up with the status quo especially after seeing the challenges that everyone is facing, some a lot more than others.

I saw a video clip in the past week showing a young boy trying to sell some of his toys to raise money to buy his mum a Christmas gift. He was too young and naïve to appropriately price the items; I reckon he was simply driven by how much he thought he needed to buy her a gift.

His reason was that she worked so hard to buy him things and he wanted to do the same for her. A young man spotted him and ended up buying everything for £100 because he was impressed by the young lad who actually asked for £50 for things that were probably worth well over £300 when they were bought.

This story struck a chord with me and no doubt with anyone that watched the clip. What also struck me was how new the items he was selling were. One could almost conclude some of them had never really been used by the boy. This is the story of a mother working so hard to give her son everything she believes he would like and a son ready to sell those things to make her feel good and happy in return.

Could this narrative be different? Could she work less and buy him cheaper gifts, but spend more quality time and shared experiences where they can be truly happy together and see each other bring happiness to the table. The end goal for each of them was to make the other person happy. As they say, there’s more than one way to skin a cat.

This year, my plans are to give to the vulnerable at home and abroad. It feels strange not buying the Christmas gifts or even the Christmas cards as I have done for decades. But if you would like to join me on this uncomfortable journey of rebellion against the status quo, here are a few causes I would love for you to consider donating towards.

Sickle Cell Society

Over 300 million people, worldwide, suffer from haemoglobin disorder with most of them from African and Caribbean heritage. Funding is needed for sickle cell research and by charities who help the sufferers and their families. Read more and donate: https://www.sicklecellsociety.org

Ravi’s Dream

Ravi is a 7 year old with normal dreams until a benign brain tumour interrupted his dreams, but of course Ravi wasn’t going to take it lying down so he is fighting back by elevating his dreams to make sure no other children has to go through what he has been through. Full disclosure, Ravi is also family but two Brain cancer charities will benefit from all funds raised. To support Ravi’s dream, and donate to the brain cancer charities who have helped the family on this tough journey, click here: https://www.ravisdream.com

Save the Children

This charity supports children around the world and you can select gifts of varying amounts. To donate, click on (www.savethechidren.org.uk)

As a rule, I look at the proportion of the donation that go towards the cause and all these charities spend 88% to 100% of your donations for what you give to.

As we look forward to the last week before Christmas, make the most of each day that you are given. We gloriously receive the gift of a new day each day we wake up.

See you next week and thanks for reading my post.