Sometimes, as a mother, I have a little bit of a self-congratulatory moment. I had one the other day, driving home with Teresa and looking at all the Christmas lights and decorations. There were lots of illuminated Santas, some reindeer and snowmen, even a Snoopy at one house, and all of them made us smile. Then, when we were nearly home, Teresa said very seriously, “Christmas is all about Jesus being born.” And I mentally high-fived myself, because I knew she got it. “That’s right,” I said. Then she continued her thought: “And the presents.” Well. Maybe I was a little too quick to congratulate myself. The thing is, she’s not really wrong. In the weeks leading up to Christmas, we spend lots of time talking about Christmas presents, buying Christmas presents, even encouraging her to think about what she would like to give other people for Christmas. This time of year, adults usually switch from “How do you like school?” to “What do you want for Christmas?” as their stock question when they address children they don’t know well. All that focus on what they might get makes the waiting so much harder, especially for children growing up in a world where they don’t have to wait for very many things. Even television is on demand now, and if a 5-year-old has trouble with a computer mouse, it’s usually because he or she is more used to a touch screen. At the same time, children are exposed to more advertising than I think most children were in years past, and it takes a little time for them to understand that truth in advertising is not always the same as truth in fact. They sometimes end up simply wanting everything, which amounts to wanting nothing, or nothing in particular. They just want something new, something that will distract them until something else catches their eye are they’re right back where they started. So we go back to talking about what a gift is, and what that means. A gift is something freely given, not earned or deserved. No one owes you a gift, we say to Teresa, and you can’t demand that anyone give you one. The best gifts are those given with the recipient in mind, something they will find interesting, or something they want or need. The best gifts come from those who know us and love us, with all of our quirks. That’s why Jesus, God’s gift to us on Christmas, is the best gift of all, because God knows we need Jesus. We need salvation and love and the example of his life to show us how to love others. Here’s wishing you a wonderful last two weeks of Advent and a joyous Christmas.