I have noticed the past few Christmas's I have just not felt the "Christmas Spirit". Maybe because the kids have grown up WAAY too fast and they have learned the value of a buck and would rather go boxing day shopping then "open stuff they don't want, like or need" :( which makes me feel like all the effort and time I spent looking for that perfect gift was pointless.
Or perhaps it is because I am in retail all year round so the materialism of it all really wears me down by December 24th and I am just exhausted and want the day off more than anything else. I look forward to spending the morning in my pj's and laughing with the kids,having breakfast together,then visiting relatives and just being together!
This year especially I have been feeling down and out about the whole thing and remembering Christmases past when the kids were little and the excitement leading up to that day! The joy in their eyes when they opened that special gift! I just haven't felt motivated to even start shopping. With the cold fall we've had customers have been shopping since early September,with so many telling me they are finished..bah humbug is how I felt...that is until the other night when I finally found time to open my November issue of House and Home magazine and found a World Vision Catalogue
As I flipped through the pages I realized that this is what Christmas is all about...giving to those who are less fortunate than us, and at that moment I felt the pang of excitement that I have really been missing in recent years!
I decided that this year all I would ask for is something from this catalogue,and also I plan to give gifts from here as well..so... if you are reading this and you know that you are on my list..better let me know what you would like because you won't be getting a sparkly wrapped gift from me this year..nope you will be getting a chicken or a piglet,maybe some warm blankets or school books for kids who really need them!
I hope you are not disappointed because I am truly giving this from my heart!
They say it's not the gift it is the thought that counts...and I think this is the PERFECT gift!! It is the gift that keeps on giving long after the other unimportant gifts have been forgotten,someone somewhere will be benefiting their daily lives!!!
Here is a link to my personal WISHLIST
Merry Christmas
Natalie
Bless your heart! We 'adopted' a little boy through World Vision a few years ago and we just love getting letters from him and seeing how he's grown. I wish more people would do what you're doing.
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