It’s a problem I know a lot of people are facing this year, in these tough economic times. My son is 10 and the baby is 1. She will be happy with an empty box and wrapping paper. My son, on the other hand, already knows and loves the toys under the tree on Christmas morning. I have always done my best to teach him the true meaning of Christmas. This year, he may have a school of hard knocks, in learning the true spirit of giving rather than receiving.

I still have faith, that maybe they won’t cut our bonuses at work, even though we’ve been told otherwise. I have faith that dad will have a job opportunity soon too. I have not lost all hope. But I do believe that what is meant to be will be and God has a plan for us. After all, the meaning of the season is not about shopping, toys and all that commercial stuff. That being said, God understands that we want to give our children the best.

If things don’t work out, I will continue to believe that the best thing is for my son to learn that happiness is not in material things. If he can learn that now, wouldn’t it be wonderful to have it in his pocket for the rest of his life?

I’ve already prepared him by letting him know that this year the XBox 360 he’s eyeing is probably not going to happen. During our conversation I let you know that you already have so many other gaming systems, why do you need another one? Wouldn’t it be better for us to save money so we can buy a house big enough for his stepbrother to fit in and move in with us, too? Four of us are crammed into an 850 square foot condo. While I’m grateful for the affordable mortgage, wouldn’t it be better for all of us to have more space? At first he resisted, saying, “No, I want the Xbox instead.” For a few weeks I let it settle and resonate. Just a couple of days ago he came up to me and said, “Mom, a house would be better than an Xbox, you’re right.”

Now that he’s a great kid and has realized that material things aren’t what matter, I’d love to provide him with some toys to reward him for his incredible insight at the young age of 10. In the meantime, I’m going to think of ways to less celebrate the presents and let the spirit guide us.

We live in Florida so there are plenty of wonderful free light displays to make up for the fact that we don’t have snow! I think we’ll take one night and go through them and have some hot chocolate. Maybe another night we can bake Christmas cookies and sing Christmas carols. We will read the story of the birth of Jesus in the Bible and remember that he is the reason for the season. Who knows, maybe, just maybe, a child’s Christmas dream will come true. Maybe I’ll sell a few things on my website for once and all this writing isn’t just a hobby.

Let’s find the meaning of Christmas and have the spirit with or without the material “things”. May your Christmas be filled with the same! Merry Christmas with Peace, Love and Joy!