Online Christmas Magazine

The Spirit of Christmas 2007

A phrase that's used quite often and probably not understood as often. Quite apart from all the festivities and the feasting and the shopping and the frenzy, what set's Christmas apart? Or is it just another red letter date on a calendar. We think not and here's why!

Christmas is a good chance to do all the good you've been meaning to all year and never got the time or the opportunity. There are numerous opportunities that you can capitalize on for accomplishing this. Here are a few of our suggestions to make this festive season truly meaningful and memorable.

Family Gatherings: Planning for this make take a few months of prior preparation to ensure that everyone has leave sanctioned, flight or train bookings in order etc. But if you take the initiative to get the ball rolling, you will be glad you did. Make a list of not only your favorite relatives, but also the ones with whom the ties are strained and awkward. Put your pride on the back burner and call them up with a warm and genuine invitation to spend Christmas day with you and the rest of the family. You will be surprised at how many respond positively!

Family ties: This is also a great opportunity to strengthen. Sometimes the sibling or parent who lives two blocks away is seen only when there is an illness or a birthday. This is a good chance to set that right. Throw your home open to all your guests to stay over, instead of putting them up in hotels or lodges. It might be a bit cramping and noisy, but it also pays off handsomely in the laughter and merriment of a large and close knit family gathered together under one roof.

The gift of giving: The adage that it is more blessed to give than to receive has to be experienced to be believed. The joy of seeing someone's excitement over something you picked out for them with care and thoughtfulness will remain long after Christmas is gone. Whether it is your little daughter holding her first doll or your grandma wrapping herself in the softest woolen shawl you could find, those are memories that will last a lifetime in your heart.

Giving of your largesse need not be restricted to your family and friends alone. A walk through the poorer sections of any city or state in our land will provide opportunities galore for some Christmas generosity, which can then spill over into the year ahead.

So bake up a large batch of cookies, pack a box with your kids' outgrown (but still decent) clothes, add some inexpensive but thoughtful new stuff from toys to clothes to cosmetics, load up some like-minded friends or relatives and explore some parts of your city that you'd normally take trouble to avoid.

The greatest significance of Christmas was an act of giving. May your family be blessed this year with the privilege of honoring that act, in your own way. Merry Christmas!