My family celebrates on Christmas Eve–so yesterday we opened our gifts after the Christmas Eve service at church. The kids all went first–handing around presents to the person whose name we drew before thanksgiving. Then we gave Mom and Dad some of their gifts. Then Mom and Dad handed around their presents for us kids. Then we gave Mom and Dad their final gifts.
Dad opened his box to find…a grill cover. Exciting, I know. But the grill cover also came with a note explaining that we’d bought him a new grill for Christmas.
Mom’s gift was even more mysterious. It was heavy and smallish–and she opened it to find a paving stone and a note. The note said that there were more stones (in the shed and on the patio) and that we owed her some flowers come spring. We were giving her a garden getaway in the little nook between the new house and the old.
Dad wanted to see the other paving stone on the patio, so we all went over to the sliding doors. When we opened the drapes and Mom saw the garden bench sitting there, she started crying.
She and Dad popped out really quickly for a photo op on the new bench–and popped in just as quickly (because it was SUPER COLD out there!)
My mom’s a practical woman–and she’s thoroughly enjoyed the new brooms and earrings that she’s gotten over the years. But this year, it was fun to absolutely overwhelm her with an extravagant gift.
I know it’s a cliche–but when Mom teared up every time she passed the porch last night, I knew that it was true–It’s more blessed to give than to receive.