It’s just about that time for Christmas trees to be put up, lights to be strung and budget conversations on how much will be spent on gifts. *cringe*

Matt’s love language is gifts…mine is quality time. An ideal Christmas morning for Matt looks like a ton of gifts under the tree waiting to be unwrapped; while I could really care less how much is under the tree and more enjoy the sentiments behind the gifts given and time shared (for this reason I also do not enjoy making Christmas lists).

Three years ago, it was our first Christmas with two children who had plenty of toys, more than enough clothes and limited space to add more. I was dreading the idea of spending money on things that we truly didn’t need and I would just have to find a home for when I am already clutter challenged.

We began having a conversation about what we wanted our children to experience on Christmas morning. We agreed that we wanted to be purposeful in the gifts given, rather than buy a ton of stuff to fill the bottom of the tree. It was important to both of us that we instill in our children that Christmas isn’t about the gifts given but about remembering Christ’s birth and his ultimate gift of his life.

We finally came across an idea (thank you Pinterest!) called the Four Gifts of Christmas. Within our family, each person unwraps:

·      Something they want

·      Something they need

·      Something to wear

·      Something to read

There are a lot of ideas out there for labeling each gift if that is your thing…personally, it takes the fun out of it for me to know which category I’m opening.

We still do a stocking for each family member that includes an ornament representing something that happened in their life that year and other goodies like crayons, markers, chapstick, a small toy, Play-Doh…you get the drift. Side note, the ornament is one of my all-time favorite Christmas traditions because decorating the tree becomes a walk down memory lane!

The Four Gifts of Christmas have saved our sanity during the holiday season! It has simplified the gift-buying process, helped us stay within our budget, encouraged us to be purposeful in our gift choices and allowed us to truly enjoy Christmas morning with one another.

How do you do Christmas gifts? Ever tried doing the Four Gifts of Christmas?