This year, instead of giving gifts to one another, my parents and siblings and I each chose a charitable enterprise to which to give. One brother and my parents chose food banks to support. Another brother and his wife bought Christmas gifts for a family whose breadwinner had been in an accident and severely injured his hand, making it impossible for him to work. My sister and I pooled our resources and bought socks and underwear for 75 homeless individuals, to be gift bagged for a party at the Homeless Day Resource Center on Monday.
None of us got another holiday book, another shirt, another gift card, another decorative doo dad, etc. We just had a nice mid-morning brunch,watched the three great-grandchildren each open a toy, listened to some Christmas music, caught up on family news, and enjoyed being together. It was not nearly as rushed or harried as in some years in the past. No one overate. There weren’t a lot of leftovers. It was just a simple, happy few hours with family.
I had taken a small bag of chocolate covered cream drop candies, something that was always at my grandmother Boyd’s when we were growing up.
At the end of the day our daughter’s family followed us home to spend a few days and we had a pleasant afternoon and evening. Our family presents were exchanged, dinner cooked, and grandchildren bathed. We watched a Charlie Brown Christmas special together. It was a joyful day. Thanks be to God!