Four Gifts!

JOYPEACE

=========== A number of years ago when my youngest child of six children was 10 or 11, I was driving myself crazy trying to buy everything on her very lengthy Christmas list. I wanted to be a good parent and give my child the desires of her heart. In the midst of all of this, a friend told me that he and his wife buy their children four gifts for Christmas every year. Yes, FOUR gifts! They are: 1. Something you want 2. Something you need 3. Something to wear and 4. Something to read. If they complain, ask them, "Whose birthday are we celebrating?" Once I started doing this, I thought my children would be awful about it, but the opposite happened. They really appreciated every gift they got, and they made me "label" them. Since that time, Christmas at our house has been so much more enjoyable because we could focus on the true meaning of the celebration, and I wasn't driving myself crazy trying to find and buy gifts I couldn't afford. And yes, I still buy and label four gifts for them each year. ~A MountainWings Original by Nola Parton-Jones, Federal Way, WA~