Presents

I got some great presents this year. As I get older, I find myself enjoying giving the presents even more than getting them. Strange, huh? It's interesting how every year, after Christmas I hear about how this friend got an iPod or this other friend got an Xbox or a $500 guitar pedal. It would probably be pretty easy to be dissatisfied with what I got, in comparison to the expensive and elaborate gifts that other people get. But somehow, I'm not dissatisfied. I guess that, even though my gifts may seem simple and even boring compared to an expensive piece of electronics, there is something else involved. It's really about the thought that went into choosing or making the present, rather than the present itself. Here's an example. This year my sister made me a blanket. It's an awesome blanket. It's warm, it's actually long enough for tall people like me, and it looks good. It didn't cost hundreds of dollars. But she made it herself. She spent time on it. She knew that I am in protest against the ludicrous Wisconsin winters. She remembered that I am perpetually complaining about being cold. And so she made this blanket for me. I'm going to use this blanket for a long time. I slept under it last night, and it was nice and warm. It's actually draped over me right now as I'm typing. I love my new blanket!

Several years ago, when I was nine or ten, I desperately wanted an Airhogs r/c jet. It was a little ducted fan powered airplane, and it was nearly indestructible, being made out of foam. It cost $50. I talked about it every day for a long time, and saved up my allowances to buy it. And then Christmas came and I received some money, which was just enough for that jet. I went to the store and finally bought it, and I was thrilled. I flew it around for hours and hours, and within about a year it was worn out. I put it in a closet, and two years ago I threw it away. It's sitting in a landfill somewhere next to a banana peel slowly decomposing. After the plane had lived its lifespan, I didn't care about it anymore. What I cared about was the time I spent in the gym flying it around, doing loops and rolls. That was the important part. I spent hours with my grandpa flying it back and forth.
A few months after I got that plane for Christmas, my parents gave me a multitool. It's a pair of pliers with screwdrivers, knife blades, bottle openers, and wire cutters on it. It cost a little less than that r/c plane. But the difference here is that I still have my multitool. I just used it about an hour ago to repair the radio that sits in my bed. I used it 3 months ago to build my computer. Again, the tool itself isn't what matters to me. It's the things I've made and fixed and taken apart that I remember.

The price or value of the gift really doesn't matter. It's the thought and effort that went into choosing it and buying it that matters. So if you ever find yourself looking at your friends and thinking "Wow, I wish I got expensive stuff like that for Christmas," just remember that whoever bought or made the gifts you got was thinking about you when they did it. They were thinking about something meaningful to give you. That's what matters the most.