Precise Giving

I love a good Christmas joke, so here’s another one.

Two young boys were spending the night at their grandparents. At bedtime, the two boys jumped into their pajamas and knelt beside their beds to say their prayers. The youngest one began praying as loudly as he could, almost shouting at the top of his lungs, ” I PRAY FOR A BICYCLE, A NEW NINTENDO, AND AN IPAD.”

His older brother leaned over and nudged the little brother saying, “Why are you shouting your prayers? God isn’t deaf.”

To which his little brother replied, “No, but Grandma is!”

I always get a kick out of that joke because it’s so true. Grandparents are genetically unable to hear a grandchild ask for something for Christmas and not make sure they get it.

I think back to the day we first learned our daughter and her husband were expecting our first grandchild. With raised wine glass in hand (and captured in a video on a phone), my wife declared, “No money will be spared on this grandchild!” Those were fun times and trust me, she has held true to her promise.

One of the highlights of Christmas is watching your family open their presents. The joy of watching a child rip off the wrapping paper to reveal exactly what they wanted can’t be matched.

On second thought, I take that back. The joy of watching a child receive something that wasn’t necessarily on their list, but even better than they hoped for, is even better.

Sadly, there are many who will spend Christmas alone and without company of family or loved ones. Maybe it’s due to not having any family remaining. Maybe it’s due to an illness or medical condition like Myasthenia Gravis. Maybe it’s as a result of being unable to travel and having no loved ones near. For those people, Christmas can be an extremely lonely time.

This time of year, we’re bombarded with ads to donate to St. Jude’s, the Shriner’s Hospital, ASPCA, and a host of other charities. While all of these are good, chances are you will never meet the children, people or animals your donations will be helping.

If you know of someone who will be alone this Christmas, send them a Christmas gift. Maybe it’s a tray of cookies, a box of fruit or a basket of snacks. Whatever you send will help make their spirits brighter and maybe even make Christmas not so lonely. I call this Precise Giving because you know exactly who will be benefiting from your generosity.

As we age, Christmas becomes more about giving than receiving, but there are some who are unable to give. Worse yet, there are some who won’t even receive. For them, Christmas may pass by uncelebrated. This is your opportunity to change that.