A teddy bear donated to Christmas Amalgamated awaits a new home (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Doug Collins

One Man's Opinion

COLLINS: The lost meaning of Christmas

Dec 24, 2023 | 6:00 AM

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE TIME when Christmas meant appreciating what you have and being happy with whatever you were given?

Parents often seem to be so concerned about heaping the mound of gifts under the tree as high as they can because they seem to feel their kids need to have every need fulfilled. It shouldn’t be that way. After the kids have clawed their way through the gifts, they can’t remember who gave them what, and because they have so many gifts, most of them find their way onto a shelf, gathering dust until someone throws them out because they have never seen the light of day.

Some families do take more time opening gifts, opening one at a time so they appreciate them a little more. But as the day wears on, they start getting restless, and there still are many gifts to open. And then, after spending all that money, parents become stressed trying to figure out how to pay for them. And do the kids appreciate it? Not likely.

Can we be happy with fewer and more practical gifts? Yes, but it requires a change in attitude. I always had presents at Christmas, but not some great pile of things because my folks just didn’t have the money. My wife’s father served in the Canadian Forces, and we all know they don’t even make ‘little bucks,’ let alone the ‘big bucks.’ Christmas for them largely consisted of renewal items like new shoes, a new sweater and things like that. And they were happy with that.

I confess I fall into that ‘go big or go home’ trap. I want the number of gifts to be equal and if we buy one child a single, more expensive gift, what is wrong with buying several gifts for another child, even though the numbers aren’t the same? And of course, the commercialism of the season has now gotten us captive in its ugly tentacles and we are doomed.

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I think the people who appreciate gifts the most are the people who receive a gift — as in one gift — from Christmas Amalgamated or the Salvation Army, and perhaps a food hamper of some sort with some treats they wouldn’t get at any other time of year. One of our kids often makes a small donation on our behalf to a charitable cause of some sort. Those gifts mean a lot to us, because they are given in the true spirit of Christmas.

Maybe the realization will eventually hit us that it’s time to rethink Christmas. Maybe at some point, we will come to understand that it’s not the number of gifts and their expense that’s of value. It’s the thought and caring that went into picking them that really speaks to what Christmas is all about.

So on this Christmas Eve Day, take a minute, look under the tree and just contemplate. Don’t look at it negatively. Just think — am I heading in the right direction with what I’ve done? What can I do to make Christmas a better and more joyous time for not only my family, but also provide a glimmer of hope for the marginalized and less fortunate?

If you want to have lots of presents, that’s your call. But over the long haul, they aren’t necessary. And that money can be better spent helping those who need things far more than we do.

Perhaps taking that time to contemplate is the best gift of all.

I’m Doug Collins and that’s One Man’s Opinion.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.