A Time to Give
by Maxine A. Randall
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:1
We all have our Scripture passages which we never tire of hearing or reading. I have several of those, with Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 being near the top of the list. I was thinking recently that the list of contrasts does not include "a time to give." (I suppose its antithesis would be "a time to receive.") So we could say that giving and receiving are both always in season, right? But for the most part, we view certain times and occasions as the "right" time for gift giving.
I was recently reading in an old perpetual flip type calendar that I've had around here for ages. The calendar is based on a book containing family traditions and is now out of print. But there are lots of great ideas in it for enhancing the life within a family with lots of little practices that can become traditions. It was in this little calendar that I came across several ideas for gift giving that really accentuate the fact that there is never a time that is not appropriate to pass along love and affection in either a tangible or intangible way. In other words, any time at all is a time to give. Let me give you several ideas which I've adapted here from some of these suggested activities.* Maybe you could take them and use them in a way that's useful in your family life.
A. Why not mail fun little gifts to your own children from time to time, especially if they need cheering up? A new coloring book and crayons, a candy treat, or a cute card would be ideal. You know how much kids love getting mail and think how much fun it would be for you to plan these special deliveries.
B. At your gathering of the extended family for Christmas or New Years, have a drawing among all of the adults and teens to select secret pals for the next year. Send treats, presents, and encouraging notes all year to the person whose name you pick. Make it a top secret whose name you have so that no one knows who is doing all of these nice things for them. No snooping or guessing! Have a certain day during the holidays of the next year to reveal who each secret pal is.
C. When your child is going away for camp, pack a small wrapped gift for him/her to open during his week away.
D. When a friend is moving away, give them a decorated box of individually wrapped presents. Label each of the little gifts to be opened the first time this or that happens in the new house. Think of random things to label the gifts, giving them a candle for the first time they lose power or a pretty tissue pack for the first time someone gets a cold. You could think of lots of things!
E. Have a surprise at your children's placemats for breakfast on the first day of each month. The surprise could correspond to what will be happening in the month to come. Example: Tickets you make up for a special outing that will be taking place that month.
F. Here is something for a friend that you want to get together with. Send her a gift card to a restaurant that she's only allowed to use if you go with her. Spend the evening chatting and catching up.
G. Get a little tote bag and fill it with cute wrapped presents. Take it to a child in the hospital.
H. Wrap a small package that is empty and tie a pretty ribbon on it. Attach a note to the person receiving it and let that person know that when lonely, the gift is not to be opened but held. They are not to unwrap it, for all your love is inside. Good to give to a teenager going away to college.
I. Challenge each family member to give every other family member a no-cost Christmas gift. These can be items from magazine offers, refunds, free samples, etc.
J. Think about giving something that is used, but cherished, to someone you love so that they can use it and cherish it also. This could be at a time when this gift would be particularly precious, such as a lovely afghan made by a dear deceased aunt, given to someone else on the birthday of that aunt.
Happy giving, through every season of life!
*These gift ideas are adapted from A Book of Family Traditions, by Jayne Reizner.
©Maxine A. Randall
We all have our Scripture passages which we never tire of hearing or reading. I have several of those, with Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 being near the top of the list. I was thinking recently that the list of contrasts does not include "a time to give." (I suppose its antithesis would be "a time to receive.") So we could say that giving and receiving are both always in season, right? But for the most part, we view certain times and occasions as the "right" time for gift giving.
I was recently reading in an old perpetual flip type calendar that I've had around here for ages. The calendar is based on a book containing family traditions and is now out of print. But there are lots of great ideas in it for enhancing the life within a family with lots of little practices that can become traditions. It was in this little calendar that I came across several ideas for gift giving that really accentuate the fact that there is never a time that is not appropriate to pass along love and affection in either a tangible or intangible way. In other words, any time at all is a time to give. Let me give you several ideas which I've adapted here from some of these suggested activities.* Maybe you could take them and use them in a way that's useful in your family life.
A. Why not mail fun little gifts to your own children from time to time, especially if they need cheering up? A new coloring book and crayons, a candy treat, or a cute card would be ideal. You know how much kids love getting mail and think how much fun it would be for you to plan these special deliveries.
B. At your gathering of the extended family for Christmas or New Years, have a drawing among all of the adults and teens to select secret pals for the next year. Send treats, presents, and encouraging notes all year to the person whose name you pick. Make it a top secret whose name you have so that no one knows who is doing all of these nice things for them. No snooping or guessing! Have a certain day during the holidays of the next year to reveal who each secret pal is.
C. When your child is going away for camp, pack a small wrapped gift for him/her to open during his week away.
D. When a friend is moving away, give them a decorated box of individually wrapped presents. Label each of the little gifts to be opened the first time this or that happens in the new house. Think of random things to label the gifts, giving them a candle for the first time they lose power or a pretty tissue pack for the first time someone gets a cold. You could think of lots of things!
E. Have a surprise at your children's placemats for breakfast on the first day of each month. The surprise could correspond to what will be happening in the month to come. Example: Tickets you make up for a special outing that will be taking place that month.
F. Here is something for a friend that you want to get together with. Send her a gift card to a restaurant that she's only allowed to use if you go with her. Spend the evening chatting and catching up.
G. Get a little tote bag and fill it with cute wrapped presents. Take it to a child in the hospital.
H. Wrap a small package that is empty and tie a pretty ribbon on it. Attach a note to the person receiving it and let that person know that when lonely, the gift is not to be opened but held. They are not to unwrap it, for all your love is inside. Good to give to a teenager going away to college.
I. Challenge each family member to give every other family member a no-cost Christmas gift. These can be items from magazine offers, refunds, free samples, etc.
J. Think about giving something that is used, but cherished, to someone you love so that they can use it and cherish it also. This could be at a time when this gift would be particularly precious, such as a lovely afghan made by a dear deceased aunt, given to someone else on the birthday of that aunt.
Happy giving, through every season of life!
*These gift ideas are adapted from A Book of Family Traditions, by Jayne Reizner.
©Maxine A. Randall
