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My first great gift idea is the gift of a listening ear. Do you know how many people there are in this world—in your life—that would love to have a listening ear for Christmas? Someone who simply will give them time and let them talk about whatever is on their heart.
I often think of elderly people who we sometimes overlook in our busy lives. Does an elderly person you know come to your mind right now? What about making an opportunity to sit down with them, have a cup of coffee, and just listen. Even if you don’t personally know someone like that, you could visit a nursing home and make yourself available to someone there. Often those in nursing homes have few if any people in their lives who visit them. Can you imagine how thrilled they would be for you to simply say, “How’re you doing? Tell me about yourself.” It would be the best gift you could give them. And you’d be surprised how interesting and entertaining their stories can be.
Maybe there are some children or teenagers in your life that would love to have someone to talk to. Why not give them a listening ear for Christmas? If you know someone who has experienced a significant loss lately, they would usually love a listening ear. You might feel like you don’t know what to say to them, but the thing is, you don’t have to say much of anything. Just listen.
It won’t be hard for you to find someone who needs a listening ear; why don’t you give it to them? It will make Christmas for them.
James 1 tells us we are to be quick to listen and slow to speak. So, great gift idea number 1 is “Give a listening ear.”
Here’s idea number 2: Give a helping hand. Jesus said that whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant (Mark 10:43). We are called as Christ-followers to serve as he did. So, what acts of service could you do this Christmas for some unexpecting person? Just one intentional act of offering a helping hand could absolutely make someone’s Christmas the best ever.
It might be something you do for a sick or disabled person you know. It might be doing some shopping for or with a widow or widower you know. Or just someone who is lonely. You could design a card that said something like: “My gift to you this year is to do something that would be helpful to you.” You might even give them a list to choose from, such as cleaning their house, cooking a meal, taking them shopping, washing their car—and any number of other acts of service from which they could choose.
In Acts 9:36 we read: “In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (in Greek her name is Dorcas); she was always doing good and helping the poor.” Always doing good and helping poor people! What a reputation to have! There are lots of ways to help poor people these days. You could serve a meal at a shelter, or volunteer at a charity.
How about babysitting for an exhausted single mom so she can have a night or day to herself? Many cannot afford babysitters, and that would be a very helpful gift.
There are so many creative ways to give a helping hand, and so many needy people. I have no doubt that you can come up with the perfect gift for someone you know. All it takes is a little time and a caring heart.
Here’s suggestion number 3: How about giving forgiveness? Are you harboring something in your heart against someone? Have you allowed a root of bitterness to grow in the soil of your soul because someone has hurt you? Don’t you think it would be a great Christmas if you decided to give up that resentment and offer forgiveness?
Perhaps they have never asked you to forgive them. That does indeed require a very special gift of forgiveness from you. But here’s the thing—withholding forgiveness causes you far more harm than it does the other person. It’s like taking rat poison and expecting the rat to die. So, in effect, giving forgiveness to someone else is a very wonderful gift that you give yourself.
You know, it may just be a very small thing—something your mate or someone close to you said or did that’s been stuck in your craw for a while and spoiling your relationship. They may not even be aware that your feelings were hurt, but you know you need to forgive them and just let it go. What a wonderful gift for that person this Christmas. You can’t wrap it and put it under the tree, but it will be one of your most beautiful gifts.
Jesus taught us that we will be forgiven in the measure that we are willing to forgive. Aren’t you so glad that you have received his free gift of forgiveness? Think of what that cost Jesus—to pay the price for your sins so you could be forgiven. No greater price has ever been paid—no greater gift has ever been offered.
In view of the forgiveness you have received, and in obedience to Jesus, your gift of forgiveness to someone this Christmas could be the turning of a page in your life, a new beginning as you are set free from the pain and burden of unforgiveness.
What makes forgiveness so difficult is that it seems unfair, especially if the other person has not asked for forgiveness. But remember this—God is still in control, and he will always have the last word. He has promised that someday all wrongs will be made right, so if you are willing to give forgiveness this Christmas to someone who has wronged you, you can be sure that God will see that you have taken them off your hook—so to speak—and now they are on God’s hook.
You might want to put this gift in writing, or email, or in a phone call, or over coffee. Or it may not be possible to express your willingness to forgive because you no longer have any contact with them. It is simply between you and God. But whatever form it takes, offering forgiveness is the pathway to freedom for you, and it could be that a relationship is renewed, or a life is changed because you gave the gift of forgiveness.
Here’s another suggestion—gift number 4: Give gifts of random kindness this Christmas. For example, next week is Christmas week. Give gifts of random kindness to at least one person each day next week, especially focusing on people who are not expecting you to give them a gift.
Here are some examples of easy, no-cost gifts of kindness that all of us can give:
- Hand out compliments every chance you get. Don’t just think it; say it! If you see a stranger who impresses you in some way, tell them. Just be much more intentional about sincerely complimenting people.
- Send one cheerful email to someone each day, thanking them for what they mean to you. And choose someone who won’t be expecting it—like the receptionist in your company or the maintenance person. A friend gave me a set of postcards with words of encouragement on them—I think she found them at a Christian bookstore. I decided to send one a day to someone I know and it is so much fun to think of a person who wouldn’t be expecting it—it’s not their birthday or anything like that—and just send them one of these cards. So, this is a beautiful idea of re-gifting—and so easy to do.
- Thank a police officer or some other public servant for their service. They get a lot of negative input. It could make their day for someone to say a simple “Thank you.”
- Perhaps an envelope with a little cash in it would be a fun thing to give to an unexpecting person – maybe a child so he or she can get a gift for their mom. Another good friend told me that her 9-year-old daughter did a chore really well—just went the extra mile to help her mom, and she just tucked a dollar in a note, thanking her for doing it so well. I’m sure the note of remembrance meant more to her even than the money.
- Distribute Christmas cards personally to people in your life, with personal notes of appreciation inside. You could give one to your co-workers; it’s more personal if you hand them out rather than mailing them.
You know, acts of kindness are easy and pleasant things to do, but if you’re like me, they can be things you just overlook in your busy life. Especially during this busy Christmas season, a simple act of kindness will be even more meaningful. What a great way to celebrate Christmas.
Here’s my last great gift suggestion for this Christmas season: Give someone the gift of the Gospel. Find some way to share the real meaning of Christmas with at least one person. Maybe you do that by sharing your own testimony with someone. Maybe you invite a friend to a program at your church where the Gospel will be clearly presented. Maybe you read Scripture during your family celebrations that tells why Jesus came as a baby. Maybe you invite a coworker to lunch and turn the conversation toward the real meaning of Christmas.
There are so many creative ways to use this season as an opportunity to share the good news—the life-changing truth that Jesus came to die for us. That baby in the manger was God in the flesh, becoming a man so that he could take our place and pay the price of our sins through his death, burial and resurrection.
Make it your goal—your gift this Christmas—to turn your eyes upon the Christ of Christmas. If you and I will keep Christ in Christmas, we will naturally share his gift with others. The light of the world has come, and the Christmas season and celebration present you as a Christ-follower with a wonderful opportunity to share the good news—that people can be made righteous and have peace with God through faith in his Son, Jesus Christ.
You know, we spend so much time on the lesser gifts, but the great gifts are like the one gift—the gift that began back there in Bethlehem. You can’t buy them, and they’re not on anybody’s shopping list. They come as he came—quietly, freely, unexpectedly.