One of the things we learned during the last couple of years is the importance of family. We learned to slow our lives down and prioritize our family relationships as more important than the busyness and stress that characterized our lives.
As we enter this Christmas season, we could consider changing our gift giving a bit to also prioritize relationships. Since most of us have too much stuff, it might be nice if we instead gave the gift of presence. The goal of presence gifting is to foster connection that will lead to meaningful moments and treasured memories.
There are many ways we can gift presence, and much of it is free. The key is to be present with one another, in whatever form that takes. This means to put aside the electronics and other distractions to give our full attention to those we are choosing to spend time with.
One thing children like to do is to make coupon books for their parents to redeem. This is a simple way to gift someone with your presence, and the coupons don’t have to be just to help them. Make sure to include some fun things also.
We can give experiences to share. Choose a new hobby or craft to learn together. Take a class to learn something new, such as dance, photography or cooking. Enjoy the arts together – a play, art museum or concert. Pamper someone with a day at the spa, a manicure or gym membership.
We could experience the great outdoors together. Go for a walk, build a snowman or snow fort, go ice skating, skiing or horseback riding. Throw in some sledding and snow angels. Or take a day trip to explore some places you have never been before.
We can also broaden our horizons and share the gift of presence with others beyond our close friends and family. There are so many who are terribly lonely, and the isolation of this past season has taken a toll on them. As we reach out to others, we ourselves will also benefit from this connection.
Then as we learn to incorporate the gift of presence into our Christmas giving, it will be easier to carry out for the rest of the year, to include times of togetherness into our daily routines. We could eat a meal together each day, without phones or television, and talk about our days, our trials, our dreams and goals.
If we have children at home, a daily bedtime routine might include a story, prayers and cuddles. We can plan a weekly game night or movie night, alternating each week who chooses them. On weekends, we can have some quality time to work and play together, not only completing tasks that need to be done, but also sharing something fun.
There is also a gift of presence that we can give to ourselves – the gift of God’s presence. He longs to spend time in our presence each day too. Again, the key is to be present with Him, without distractions, and to set our focus and attention upon Him alone.
Whether this time includes meditating on Scripture, worship music, journaling, or just being silent before the Lord, it’s a time to pour out our love, our questions, laments, sorrows and our worship upon the Lord. He will gift us with His love, peace, joy, blessing, comfort, answers. Whatever we need can be found in God’s presence.

Hope Ministries is a Christian counseling center, and we are here to help. If you would like to speak confidentially with someone, give us a call at 482-5300.