YEAR AFTER YEAR

By Klaus Döring

Year after year is often used to focus attention on the fact that something is repeated over and over, as in this example sentence: We vacationed there year after year, until our kids grew up.

One thing is very important: Gifts for Christmas.

Gift giving and receiving and Christmas simply but surely go together. Many times, it incurs our indignation. Only reluctantly, many of us defer the most important decision during the most jolliest season of the year. What is the best Christmas gift for our loved ones??? Is it really an important decision, or does it delete the real meaning of Christmas? I am sure, many of us know the real answer.

The giving spirit of the holiday season seems to fade in the light of necessary obligations and finances, along with the painful dilemma of giving gifts to those who want to buy as opposed to those for whom you should buy!

Let's think about it: To whom are we obligated at Christmas: our boss, our cousins, our parents, our partner or our children and friends as well? What about the children? Should they give presents to people either then family members? How about the innumerable large families especially in the Philippines, because of economics, resort to the name drawing process at Christmas.

For me, firstly, Christmas is spirit. You can always find ways to give gifts without expenses. The most well known and always remembered gift is to give to someone like giving time. In my family we do this mostly during the holiday season.

But if I look more around, mmh, sad to say, that "time as gift" doesn't satisfy most of all.Well, it's okay. There are so many ways to use your mind in terms of giving someone other things than putting Peso, Euro or Dollar notes. I am sure you know that home made gifts can also be a very good idea... .

The most thoughtful gifts are ones that have, well, thought behind them. Thoughts about what brings joy to the recipient, what they want, need, and what they didn't know they couldn't live without until it arrived at their doorstep.

Sure, there is etiquette of gift giving at Christmas and also other occasions. Homemade gifts are most appropriate especially as Christmas gifts, according to Stuart E. Jacobson, book author of "The Art of Giving". Allow me to quote Jacobson, "Homemade gifts are wonderful. A gift of imagination, a gift of creativity, a gift that shows (also!) time was put into it. A created time is a wonderful present."

When considering a homemade gift, instead of tumbling through crowded shopping malls (as I tried again yesterday -  and getting a headache (I really got!)! While stumbling from one mall to the next, I found out again, that the real and whole essence of giving a gift is to bring pleasure to the person receiving it. Jacobson says in his book, "Homemade gifts are also ideal for children to give as presents. Kids can create things because they have a unique imagination. Children should feel free to give something to anyone they spend a lot of time with. No monetary value should be placed on what a child should give to someone."

Very well said. I am just afraid that it seems more or less impossible nowadays in these modern times... .