Christman Gifts, Re-Gifts and Real Gifts

I saw a piece on one of the morning news shows last week on “the rules of re-gifting.” An expert (how does one become an expert in such things) shared some guidelines on what gifts you receive that you can and can’t pass on as gifts to others. There was a long list of rules, but I do remember two of them—“If it is too tacky for you to keep, it is too tacky for you to give away” and “You can re-gift an article of clothing if the color or style reminds you of the person to whom you are giving it.” I think those two rules go together well—“This is much too tacky for me, but it made me think of you.”

Lynn and I usually don’t give one another gifts. It is an inside family joke that Lynn has returned most of thew gifts I have given her. I can never get the style or the size right. (Did you know there is a difference between a .3 and 3 carat diamond? Go figure.) Lynn is much too practical to keep something she doesn’t really like or won’t really use… and I guess I’m too dense to figure out what she really likes or will really use! One year I gave her a toaster oven—which she liked and used. But for some reason, that didn’t go over well as a gift either. Who would have thought?

As for me, I’m easy. Ever sense I was a kid, I have had one rule of Christmas gifts. Christmas is for toys… period. Clothes are nice, but they are not Christmas. Christmas is about toys—computer games, sporting goods, home electronics, etc. But I really don’t want Lynn picking out my computer games, sporting goods or home electronics. So we have a working deal. We have fun giving the kids stuff, but we don’t buy gifts for each other. It works for us. at least it works for me.

For some reason, Luke 14 just popped into my head while I was thinking about all of this. We generally give Christmas gifts to people who give us gifts. According to the news show I referred to earlier, one of the big reasons we re-gift is because someone gave us something and we had given them anything… and we don’t want to go back out shopping. Well, listen to what Jesus tells people who are giving a banquet in Luke 14:12-14…

Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the
resurrection of the righteous.”

Maybe that principle needs to be part of our Christmas shopping as well. Maybe we should give more gifts to the “poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind” instead of people that can afford to buy their own stuff that they really don’t need. Sending a card that says, “A gift of $20 has been sent to DUCO (or some other charity) in your name” may make both giver and receiver feel more in the Christmas spirit that getting another pair of socks or something. Maybe that is something to think about for next year.