why I give gifts, part 1.

Reading this series over the past few days has me thinking about the reasons that I give gifts at Christmas time. Here's what I've come up with so far.

Tradition.

I give gifts every year because it's just tradition to do so. It's always been a part of my family's celebration, and it's a part that I really like. I do it for the same reason that I watch White Christmas at least half a dozen times every year - because at the end, there is a (perhaps naive) part of me that believes that all really is right with the world. And the idea of not giving gifts - well, it really just never occurred to me.

Giving gifts is my love language.

If you've read any of the Five Love Languages books (or ever done marriage counseling, or been around Christian circles at all), you've heard this idea - that there are five languages that people use to give and receive love, and that each person has one or two primary ways that they understand it. Giving gifts is one of my mine - I love thinking and planning the perfect gift for someone, and I love watching them as they open it.

Receiving gifts is the love language of a lot of people on my Christmas list.

It truly is. So if I love my sister, and I know that one of the ways that she best receives and understands love is through gifts, then of course I'm going to give her a gift at Christmas.