How Much Is Too Much?

As Christmas quickly approaches, we start panicing about all the last minute gifts we still have to buy, and then the guilt of all the spending creeps up.  As a mom on a seriously restricted budget, I really struggle with the gift giving.  I want to give my kids great gifts to see them smile on Christmas and show them how much I love them.  But even as I type this, I realize that that is really not the point of Christmas.  Most kids, including my own, get so many gifts for Christmas that they forget the first 10 gifts as those get lost under the wrapping of the next 10.  I had a coworker that had a good idea about the amount of Christmas gifts -- 3!  His reasoning was that Jesus only got 3 so we don't need anymore than he had.  He also made specific criteria for each gift.  One had to be educational, and one had to be practical, and one could be something desired.  He even asked the grandparents to join him in this and asked them to only get his children 3 gifts too.  I have to say that I really like this idea.  It can maybe help us focus more on the real reason for Christmas, celebrating the birth of our Savior, and spending time with people we love.  I think the gifts sometimes take away from the festivities.  I remember one year, I was so mad at my aunt because she got me a doll that was a boy.  I threw a big fit and cried.  I didn't even deserve a gift.  That was my 4th family event where I had received gifts.  I don't remember any of the rest of the gifts I received that year, or frankly for most of my Christmas'.  The real memories are of times where my family invited the single ladies who had no family to share Christmas dinner with us.  Or the year that my cousins, whose mother had just passed away, spent Christmas with us and I had the flu.  I hope we can all scale back on the material gifts and focus on The Gift.  Merry Christmas!