Editorial Message: A Gift With Meaning

Dear Readers:   The holidays are here—again. The craziness of buying presents for just about everyone we know seems to be in full swing. Have you noticed that advertisements and sales for Christmas and Hanukkah seem to be starting earlier each year? From the looks of the stores and the media there doesn’t seem to be any problem with the economy. But what are we really doing with all this buying? Are we buying presents for friends and loved ones to show that we care for them or are we just spending money because it is expected that we give presents? Will the gift you are giving be appreciated and wanted, or just be put in the closet to “regift” to someone else? According to economist Joel Waldfogel, buying presents that the recipient doesn’t want or value actually represents money wasted.¹ Why waste money when we can give presents that truly show our love and concern for those receiving our gifts? Don’t most of us have enough “stuff” already?   Showing someone we care does not equate to spending a lot of money. Through the years, I have received some very memorable Christmas presents that cost very little—just the time and effort of the giver that show their love. I have received delicious gifts of food and other handmade items. I have been honored with some unusual gifts. Someone donated a goat to a family in Africa in my name. Weird you say? It might seem so, but the goat was given to a family with small children who were unable to afford milk. The goat provided all the milk the family needed and even some to sell to make extra money. In their country, a goat takes less care and space than a milk cow. Seems like a perfect gift to me.   Several ducks were given in my name to a family in central Africa whose children were suffering from protein malnutrition. The family’s nutrition problems could be solved by providing them a source of eggs. You and I would suggest chickens; but in their country, ducks are the preferred source of eggs. It seems that every spring they have torrential rains and flooding in their area. Chickens are very likely to drown in the floodwaters. Ducks—they just swim to safety. Seems pretty smart to me. I have had gifts given in my name to help drill a water well in South America so that a village could have the benefit of clean drinking water. I have had gifts given in my name to help assure that unfortunate children, and even senior citizens in a nursing home, could have a happy Christmas. These have meant more to me than just about any present I could have opened and added to my collection of “stuff.”   Sometimes we take for granted the greatest gifts we have been given. We have been given families, spouses, children, and for some of us, grandchildren. A surgical resident from Haiti who was doing a preceptorship with me said, “If I lived in the United States, every day would be Christmas.” Just today a patient said, “Every Christmas I am here to enjoy is a gift.” How easy is it for us to overlook what we have been given. Perhaps the easiest gift for us to take for granted is the reason for Christmas, Jesus Christ.   As you scurry about doing your shopping this season, stop and consider two things: 1) Why am I really doing this? and 2) Will this gift be beneficial to the person to whom it is being given or is it just more “stuff?” I hope you will answer the first question honestly. It may relieve much of the stress associated with the holidays. In answering the second question, maybe an unusual gift that will benefit the recipient and honor the one in whose name it is given will be the best approach. There are many who could benefit from our not accumulating more “stuff.” How will you choose to celebrate your holidays?

Reference

1. Waldfogel, Joel. Scroogenomics: Why You Shouldn’t Buy Presents for the Holidays. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press; 2009.