Thursday, January 5, 2017
Turn Christmas Upside Down
Every year on the first day of Advent, December 1st, I watch a video from Advent Conspiracy as a way to prepare my heart for the Christmas Season.
I encourage you to watch it {turn the volume on for full impact}
It is such a good reminder to me as the Advent Season begins.
When I first watched an Advent Conspiracy video 5 years ago, it struck a cord and made me re-think Christmas.
Do I think gifts & Christmas gifts are bad? No.
But, I have changed the way I view gift giving.
The amount of money Americans spend on Christmas makes me sick to my stomach.
Black Friday....don't even get me started.
In years past, we used to exchange gifts with all my nieces & nephews.
It was ridiculous buying & exchanging gifts with all 8 kids.
My kids don't need that many presents & neither do their cousins.
So, a few years ago, we changed how we did Christmas. Each kid would pull a name & get a gift for 1 cousin. Much more reasonable than getting gifts for 8 cousins.
Several years ago, my sisters & I decided to stop giving each other gifts.
We don't need anymore "Stuff"
Now we do something fun together.
This year, we are getting tickets to see Jersey Boys with my mom and having a girls day in San Francisco.
Spending time together is much more fun than getting a random sweater or purse.
Last year, I told my sisters to NOT give my girls Christmas presents.
Instead, I told them to take my girls on dates so they could have one on one time with them for a few hours.
Spending time with their Aunties is much better than a random toy.
I encourage you to watch the video & see how you can turn your Christmas upside down.
Organizations that we support & have been a part of & so can you:
Adopt a Family, Feed the homeless,
Sponsor a child through
Compassion International or World Vision
Donate money to help build wells with charity:water,
Heifer Project {donate an animal to give a family a source of food for a year. A few years ago, one of my students donated a goat in my name. Best Christmas present from a student. EVER}.
Make a Blessed to Bless Bag,
Angel Tree, Operation Christmas Child,
Donate cans to a Food Bank.
Do Something.
Spend Less. Give More.
It's not about the gifts. It's about the birth of Christ.
Make this CHRISTmas meaningful.
I encourage you to watch it {turn the volume on for full impact}
It is such a good reminder to me as the Advent Season begins.
When I first watched an Advent Conspiracy video 5 years ago, it struck a cord and made me re-think Christmas.
Do I think gifts & Christmas gifts are bad? No.
But, I have changed the way I view gift giving.
The amount of money Americans spend on Christmas makes me sick to my stomach.
Black Friday....don't even get me started.
In years past, we used to exchange gifts with all my nieces & nephews.
It was ridiculous buying & exchanging gifts with all 8 kids.
My kids don't need that many presents & neither do their cousins.
So, a few years ago, we changed how we did Christmas. Each kid would pull a name & get a gift for 1 cousin. Much more reasonable than getting gifts for 8 cousins.
Several years ago, my sisters & I decided to stop giving each other gifts.
We don't need anymore "Stuff"
Now we do something fun together.
This year, we are getting tickets to see Jersey Boys with my mom and having a girls day in San Francisco.
Spending time together is much more fun than getting a random sweater or purse.
Last year, I told my sisters to NOT give my girls Christmas presents.
Instead, I told them to take my girls on dates so they could have one on one time with them for a few hours.
Spending time with their Aunties is much better than a random toy.
I encourage you to watch the video & see how you can turn your Christmas upside down.
Organizations that we support & have been a part of & so can you:
Adopt a Family, Feed the homeless,
Sponsor a child through
Compassion International or World Vision
Donate money to help build wells with charity:water,
Heifer Project {donate an animal to give a family a source of food for a year. A few years ago, one of my students donated a goat in my name. Best Christmas present from a student. EVER}.
Make a Blessed to Bless Bag,
Angel Tree, Operation Christmas Child,
Donate cans to a Food Bank.
Do Something.
Spend Less. Give More.
It's not about the gifts. It's about the birth of Christ.
Make this CHRISTmas meaningful.
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