Why Gifts Matter
As we head into the holiday season I find myself full of the same kind of annual glee I feel every early November. I am an artist and someone who delights in giving meaningful gifts and this time of year I get lean in to both of those things in a wonderful way. Being a part of creating thousands of Christmas gifts every year through Pink Salt Riot is my favorite Christmas gift that others give to me. The chance to be a part of all of those acts of love is nothing short of astonishing and carries me through the loneliest times of working motherhood. But in reflecting on gift giving lately I have realized that not only Christmas, but gift giving itself has gotten tied up in secular commercialism in a way that is definitely doesn’t have to be. Gift giving in and of itself does not detract from Christmas, or even the celebration of Christ at Christmas, as I heard one women remark. She was very proud of the fact that no one in her family gave or received Christmas gifts because they wanted to “only focus on Christ.” I don’t disagree with the sentiment. I also want Christmas to be solely about Christ. But I think that’s where the gifts come in, not where they need to exit. Christ himself is a gift on Christmas - a gift to each of us and to everyone that has ever lived. He is the perfect gift from God - a Redeemer who saves us from ourselves, our deep ties to sin, and even death itself. Christmas is about giving, the gift God gave and still gives, and then also our own attempts to mimic that. And of course we are not under any delusions that our small and simple gifts will bring salvation of any kind, but we are still called to give like God - in a way that signifies our deep knowing and love of the people we give to. Gifts are a chance to let people know that they are seen. And in our noisy, crowded, lonely world, being seen is deeply meaningful. It is the desire to be seen that has created so much of the chaos in our world - people feeling the need to scream and shout and shoot guns to remind everyone else that they exist, that they hurt, and that they want to matter. There is a reason gift giving is a love language - the thought and effort put into a gift reflects the thought and effort we put into the person through the gift. This isn’t a post to try and guilt you into spending a lot of money on Christmas gifts or even to try and get you to shop with us here at PSR this holiday season, even though we do really love to help you create the perfect gifts. This is a post to remind you why we all started giving gifts in the first place, and to let you know that we are going to support you in your gift giving this year if you have $100 to spend or nothing to spend. Everyone deserves a Christmas present created just for them, and I also think that everyone deserves the opportunity to give amazing gifts even if they have very little, or even no, money to spend. That’s why this month and next we are going to be bringing you videos, freebies, and wrapping papers to help you love others through your gift giving. I will be sharing easy ways to create meaningful gifts through special wrapping techniques, easy gifts to make and give using our freebie library, as well as specials and coupon codes to get the most bang for your buck if you choose to shop with us this holiday season. 
{Tiny fraction of the free printable wrapping paper we have in our library ^}
It is up to us to give in a way that points back to God this Christmas. And that God is not stingy, tired, or adverse to beautiful things. He is generous, overflowing, abundant, and delighted by the work of His hands. How can you give like God this Christmas?
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