Each year, Christians decry the abuse and exploitation of Christmas and everything that it means. Unhappiness is expressed about the commercialism, the materialism, and the misrepresentation in the prominent appearance of a Santa Claus. The problem with many of us, however, is that willingly or unwillingly we go along with the frenzy without an attempt to rise above it and be different as God's people are called to be different.

How can we celebrate Christmas in a way that is in keeping with its true meaning? The answer to that question is in the title of this article: it is to plan Christmas around "the Gift". That implies that as Christians and Christian families we make a planned effort to express in all our Christmas activity the message and the ministry of Christ. Following are a number of practical suggestions as to how this may be done. I would emphasize the importance of the FAMILY effort. So easily families are scattered at Christmas time, each member going his separate ways. However, planning Christmas around "the Gift' begins where FAMILIES join in praise and celebration.

To make the Christmas season a time of spiritual enrichment, then, I would first of all urge the observance of Advent. Advent is the season preceding Christmas, it is a time of preparation. It begins on the Sunday closest to the 30th of November so that this year the first Sunday of Advent comes on December 3rd. In Advent the Christian Church for many centuries has recalled the enfolding of God's redemption, and has relived the expectation of the coming Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ. It's the longing so well expressed in the well known Advent hymn: "Come, Thou long expected Jesus". However, Advent is more than a reference to the past, it is a rejoicing in what is NOW: "Joy to the World, the Lord HAS Come!" And then again, Advent urgently directs us toward the future: from where He comes. Indeed, Advent is the anticipation of the Lord's coming again. And so, Advent and Christmas bring together every strain of the eternal Gospel, her Alpha and Omega.

There are several simple ways in which Advent may prepare us for Christmas to come. In families with smaller children one can use the so called Advent Calendar. It is a picture (I have one of a stain glassed window) with little windows in it that open up. There is a window for each day of Advent and on each is written a Scripture verse. The calendar may be used as a table devotion and is then supplemented by the reading or singing of one or more stanzas of an Advent or Christmas hymn. For families with older children there is available a list of Scripture passages covering each day of Advent. The Scriptures are usually taken from the prophets, the psalms, and the first chapters of Luke.

Another Advent tradition is the Advent wreath. It is a circular spray of evergreens with four or five candles, one for each week of Advent. The fifth candle is the so called Christ candle. It is lit on Christmas Day. In our family we use the wreath and candles at some appropriate time during each Advent Sunday in a brief service in which all the members of the family participate. It consists of a hymn, a passage of Scripture, the lighting of the candle with a few lines of introduction, an Advent prayer and another hymn. The Christmas Day service may be extended by the singing of more hymns and the telling of a regular story with a Christmas application. The brief home services during Advent and on Christmas Day may be planned with the help of materials supplied by your Church librarian or by the Christian bookstore in your area.

A tradition that came to my attention only recently is that of the Jesse tree. The idea originates from Isaiah ll:l: "there shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse...... Jesse was the father of David and it was from the House of David that Christ came. The Jesse tree tradition is a series of symbols every one of which relates to the Biblical story of redemption. The symbols are cut out and hung in a branch which is placed in a flower pot, or you may use the Christmas tree. Each of the symbols carries a Scripture verse. Repeated reference to the symbols in our Jesse tree recalls God's wonderful plan of salvation climaxing in the birth of the Saviour. A book with the symbols may be purchased at the Christian bookstore. It is called "the Jesse tree" and it is published by Fortress Press.

Christmas music is another way in which we may focus our hearts and minds on the message of Christmas. There are many familiar hymns but also many that we do not know. Why not learn a few new hymns or buy a record that contains some of the traditional carols or chorales. Many families own a set of records or tape of Handel's Messiah. The printed text is usually included and has a great many Scripture references which you can use for your Advent devotions.

I believe if we are to plan Christmas around "the Gift" it is important what we do with our gift giving. If our Christmas celebration is to be meaningful we need not drop our gift giving but we should allow it to reflect the message and the ministry of Christ. What an opportunity to reflect in our gift giving the ministry of our Saviour. Here are some ideas that came to my mind:

Buy a gift that helps a person or a family in their faith. There is a wealth of Christian books around for both adults and youth. An excellent family gift is always a Children's Story Bible, or maybe in a family with older children a Concordance which helps us in the study of the Scriptures.

Gifts need not always cost money. The Trapp family used to draw names at the beginning of the Advent season, and all during Advent they did special favours for their "secret friend". They secretly dried dishes, tidied rooms , made extra attempts to be kind. Nothing was said until Christmas Eve when the "secret friends" were revealed! The same idea is expressed in a gift consisting of "three hours of free baby sitting", or in something which we have made ourselves and which as a result conveys a personal investment.

As Christ's ministry always met a need so our gift giving should aim at. meeting needs. Much money is spent at Christmas time on things that are useless; many gifts are given to people who do not need them but to whom, we feel, we are under obligation. Single out a few people in your church or community to whom your gift becomes a ministry, whose lives receive a lift because someone cares!

That applies to Christmas cards as well. In terms of money a Christmas card or Christmas letter is the cheapest gift that you can buy. But again it becomes useless when there is no message, or when it doesn't perform a ministry. A Christmas card always should carry a Scriptural reference to "what we are about", whether it is printed on it, or whether you write it on. I usually select three or four Scripture verses that reflect the significance of Christmas and use them alternately on the cards I send. In addition I write a greeting, sometimes a letter and thus the card I send fulfills a ministry. We in our family have been ministered to by many a Christmas card.

And so Christmas comes. -It is a day for which we had carefully prepared, in a way that honours our Lord. And because we had made all these preparations, Christmas Day becomes the day of days. I wish all our readers a Season with many Blessings as you plan your Christmas around IP the Gift.