The Three-Gift Christmas

by Meghan Griffin
read full article here on the blog…

It became apparent on Christmas morning last year that something needed to change. We were definitely overdoing it. We looked at a few ideas on Pinterest, but then we discovered this one… and it changed our thinking completely.

The Three Gift Christmas

The Three-Gift Christmas. Three gifts. That’s it.

The three-gift Christmas harkens back to the three gifts Jesus received from the magi: gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Gold, of course, represents something of value. Something the kid really wants and will get excited about.

Frankincense was used in worship, so it’s a gift that benefits the child’s spiritual development. That could mean lots of different things, but think of Veggie Tales or Praise Baby DVDs, a kids’ nativity, or even an instrument and music lessons (the drummer boy banged out his worship, remember!) For older kids, think iTunes gift card!

Myrrh was medicinal or healing, so we’re getting them health insurance. Kidding! Myrrh is something for their body. Clothes, some kind of exercise activity, something to aid in self-care, whatever. Something that’s for their tiny little body as it grows.

For us, we’re approaching these as CATEGORIES of gifts rather than specific NUMBERS of gifts. Meaning that while I’ll try to stick with just 3 gifts, I reserve the right to create a Myrrh BASKET of gifts rather than one single item. We’ve also modified the three-gift Christmas idea by planning on one large gift for the kids to share (think Disney passes or a bounce house or a trip), and Santa will likely get credit for that one. And of course ridiculously awesome stockings full of cool stuff, as is the custom carried on from my childhood.

As an added benefit, our modified three-gift Christmas pairs nicely with the Dave Ramsey financial peace philosophy we try to uphold: if we can’t pay cash, we don’t buy it. No Christmas debt and regret come January.

So how is YOUR family handling to tendency to overdo Christmas? Would the three-gift Christmas work for you? Fill us in!