It’s almost Christmas and Dan and I have NOT succumbed to the shopping frenzy. But that’s really not new this year for us – we have never indulged in the Christmas shopping frenzy that has taken over America. We have always exchanged a few Christmas gifts depending on our economic status of the time, which usually isn’t much since I work in the non-profit world!

And last night as we were talking about exchanging presents we asked each other what we’d given each other last year. We couldn’t remember! Can you remember what you gave as a Christmas gift to your spouse or family members or received from them last year? Chances are the answer is no, and your unremembered gift is languishing in a corner somewhere. Or perhaps you returned it to get something else.

This year, since we are shopping unchained, my whole take on Christmas has altered even further as I continue to think more deeply about the meaning of Christmas.

Barn & Co., on Cape Cod

While we were in Cape Cod before Thanksgiving, Dan purchased a nice $25 blouse for me from a very cool gift store in Dennis, The Barn & Co. He’s promised to buy me a few of my favorite mystery books at the used book store in Chattanooga, McKay Used Books. And other then that there might be a few stocking stuffers that I don’t know about.

McKay's new store in Chattanooga

For him, I’m knitting a scarf (half way through – yikes!) in a wonderful yarn he picked out. And I have a few small surprises I can’t divulge as he will be reading this post. Total spent by each of us – well under $100 each.

So here’s the thing I was thinking about on the way home from work yesterday – and stick with me even if you aren’t into the whole Jesus thing. Because even if you’re not, let’s face it, Christmas is supposed to be about the joy of giving to those you love — in the spirit of Jesus or whatever spiritual tradition you believe in.

The Three Wise Men by Hans Memling

Ok – let’s review what Jesus got for Christmas (at his birth). Three Wise Men show up with three gifts. Not, thirty mind you. Just three. So how is it suddenly we feel as Americans that we need to give each other (mainly our kids) so many gifts? Well, of course that’s where the mass media comes in telling us we MUST have those gifts or we are not cool, hip, in, or happy.

Maybe we should reconsider and go back to the original idea of giving three gifts?

Now these gifts were pretty expensive items for the time: Gold, Frankincense, and Myrr. They were nothing to sneeze at. But here’s the thing. Whatever happens to those gifts? I racked my brain, but I never read about these three gifts again in the Bible. And I’m pretty sure Mary and Joseph raised Jesus as a normal son of a carpenter with no special privileges of wealth.

So what DID Mary and Joseph do with those gifts?

You don’t hear about Joseph’s cashing them in so Mary can get a big diamond ring to show off back in Nazareth to hush up the gossiping neighbors about her early pregnancy. You don’t hear about a vacation beach-side condo so they can get away when the carpentry business gets to be too stressful. Nor do you hear about a college fund for baby Jesus so when he grows up he can better himself.

My guess? Mary and Joseph being good, devout Jews, sold the goods and give the proceeds to charity to thank God for the gift of their son.

Animal Shelters need your donations!

Mmmmmm – giving donations to others in need during Christmas? Cool idea — and one I am going to follow this year!

Here’s some suggestions in case you might need them:

• Your local homeless shelter.
• Your local no-kill animal shelter.
• Your local soup kitchen.
• Your local food bank.
• Your local museum or cultural organization. (My favorite place to donate to!)

It is truly wonderful to share your love by giving a gift to someone during the holidays. But I think it’s time we thought about why we give gifts, how we give gifts, and where we purchase the gifts. I hope you bought at least some of your gifts at independent stores this season!

And I hope you and your family have a wonderful holidays – no matter what tradition you celebrate!

I know Christmas is just around the corner because the slow trickle of junk mail in the form of the Christmas catalog is coming in the mail. Slow because since we don’t use catalogs, we don’t receive many. But the average household receives many a Christmas catalog each day which accumulate and then are thrown in the trash.

A few years in a row I purchased Christmas floral gifts from Jackson & Perkins for my sister who is in a nursing home in another state, so we tend to get gardening catalogs and L.L. Bean which Dan used to purchase clothes from. Since we’re shopping unchained they just go in the trash.

My new December issue of Mary Janes Farm had a short blurb on cutting down on catalog clutter. I got excited at the thought that I could stop junk mail. So I went to the website, but was sorely disappointed! Rather than being a site that told you how to completely stop junk mail like Christmas catalogs coming into your home because you wanted to shop locally, it was merely a site that helped you stop the catalogs, and then receive them via email! Yikes! That wouldn’t help us at all.

So I did some googling for a better solution to stop junk mail and came up with this very thorough, no-frills site. This site helps you stop all junk mail. It’s the ultimate site to help you declutter your life and save the environment at the same time.

I will be sitting down and taking the time to email places to stop junk mail — not just Christmas catalogs — but lots of other clutter as well. All types of junk mail including the dreaded and extremely pesky credit card solicitation! I throw out at least one a day and it would be a real blessing, as we say down here in the south, to not have to participate in that waste of trees and filling of the landfill.

So, please take a few moments out of your day to sop the junk mail waste coming into your home. The environment and you will be happier! Merry Christmas to all and let’s remember to shop local this holiday season!