Four gifts

Today at church many of the comments and lessons were about how to focus more on Christ this time of year and less on the other aspects of Christmas. One of the things Dave and I have always tried to do is not get the boys too many gifts at Christmas because we never wanted them to get to the point where they expected lots of stuff. But sometimes we would look under the tree and think it looked too sparse so we'd go out and get a few more gifts. But they weren't always thoughtful gifts. They weren't always things that were appreciated. Tonight, while I was looking at some of my favorite blogs, I came across this post on Emily's blog.  It was just what I needed to read. She wanted to do something so her kids were more grateful for the things they got. Dave and I often say the same thing about our boys. Because, really, they have never gone without; they have never known what it really feels like to want for something. So I read Emily's post to Dave and how she was going to change how she did Christmas for her kids. Everyone gets 4 gifts: something they want, something they need, something to wear and something to read. We loved it. We went through the gifts we had already purchased for the boys and made a list, then checked it twice and decided on the 4 gifts to give them. There might be less under the tree this year, but hopefully the gifts will be more thoughtful and not just stuff.