Five (unconventional) Last-Minute Christmas Gift Ideas!

 We're down to the homestretch, right before all the merry-making begins. The twinkly lights may or may not be in place, the groceries may still need to be purchased, and sometimes we are still in need of that one last-minute gift idea and nothing left on the stores shelves seems to fit just right.

What I propose can't be bought on store shelves, but I can guarantee it is on every person's unspoken wish list this year. 

Over the years, I've had several opportunities to be the new girl in town, and this year is no different. I have found myself in a new worship community, quite different from the one that came before. It has given me time to ponder this year what it might have been like for Mary and Joseph as they traveled to Bethlehem and then onto Egypt for a time. 

What things might they have encountered? What questions might have been posed to them in these new places? They carried the Savior of the world in their arms, but it wasn't obvious to all the passersby, only a few perceptive wise men and some shepherds who received an obvious heavenly intervention on a dark, cold night. 

While we won't encounter Jesus in the physical form of a baby, we will encounter Him in the image of all those we interact with over the next few days and weeks. 

I propose five unconventional gift ideas for consideration over the next few days...

1. Encouraging and respectful words. 

I keep running into signs in businesses and medical offices lately asking for simple respect in interactions, even reminding clients that the person they speak to is someone else's daughter, wife, friend, etc. It still amazes me that needs to be said. We may all disagree on religion, politics, even how to run the cash register, but a simple word of encouragement, freely given and without expectations, can open up new conversational and relational pathways, especially in our own families and friend groups. It helps us to see the whole person and not reduce someone to a label that can be consumed or thrown away.

2. Putting encouraging words into action. 

To add extra meaning to those encouraging words, find a way to also put them into action. As an example, it is one thing to call someone "trustworthy," but to put that word into action by demonstrating trust in our actions can have a deeply lasting impact on their lives, one not soon forgotten. An impact that can spread to others in ways we may not even be able to imagine.

3. Discover what feels like home to another person. 

The holidays seem to come with built-in expectations. There is a never-ending stream of made-for-television movies telling us what makes for a meaningful holiday, and usually it involves a purchase of some particular brand. On the other hand, there is an opportunity to really pause to notice, or even ask, what feels meaningful to those around us. Rather than to insist on our own ways, we can also consider gifting someone with our time, or yielding to letting the holidays look differently than we might expect. This gift has the uncanny ability to return far more than what is given. Truly, "it is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35 NRSVCE). 

4. The benefit of the doubt. 

Remembering that there is a whole world within each person and the reasons they do things might not always be obvious. Sometimes this gift is best administered even to oneself.

5. Last, but not least...prayer. 

Each interaction we experience, even the negative ones, can give little clues into the inner world of others, and help us to find ways to intercede in prayer for each person we encounter.

For me personally, this list begins with my own encounter with Christ, letting Him first be "born in me." I leave you today with a song that I have joyfully rediscovered during the days of Advent this year. I hope it blesses you also.

Merry Christmas! Peace be with you.

"Be Born In Me" by Francesca Battistelli

Photo Courtesy of Negative Space, stocksnap.io