Getting Personal

                Goodwill to all men – Gifts of Good this Christmas
            
                The Christmas season is upon us once again - Time to gather round the Christmas tree and raise a glass to wish for peace on earth and goodwill to all men. Of course, first you have to drag the Christmas tree out of the attic, decorate the house, plan Christmas dinner and buy plenty of Christmas gifts, while more than likely consuming copious amounts of wine. And, it is all well and good cheering on world peace and wishing goodwill to all men, but one can feel slightly hypocritical when what you really are wishing for is a Blackberry and your goodwill does not even extend to your neighbours, who quite frankly, with all the racket coming from their Christmas domestics, you think they have had more than their fair share of Christmas cheer - at least of the liquid kind!

However, never has it been more prevalent to bear in mind the eco-factor, and credit crunch, when buying Christmas gifts. As tempting as it is to buy 'good' Christmas gifts, i.e. a Wii sport, G1 phone and as much High School Musical merchandise as possible, now is the time to consider instead, Christmas gifts of 'good'! Consumed by thoughts of carbon footprints and with one eye on the ever imposing big brother that is 'social conscience', you could consider Christmas gifts derived from the charity route. You know, where a goat for an African village masquerades as a Christmas gift for your mother-in-law...

Cynicism aside, these 'Christmas gifts of good' are actually a very worthwhile and thoughtful Christmas gift. The key to them, however, is getting the right sort of Christmas gift for the right person. For example, one doubts whether uncle Bob, the avid Gooner whose idea of a Christmas day utopian state consists of 24 cans of Stella, the Queen's speech and leftover turkey sandwiches, would really appreciate an 'Adopt a Pony gift set'. He really does seem an unlikely candidate... unless, of course, you count 'mental age of 12' as a requirement... However, your niece, Bob's daughter, who dreams endlessly of having her own pony, would absolutely love a gift like that. And, it does not have to end with ponies, there are all sorts of animals that you can 'adopt' - Reindeer, for example, although that particular gift should perhaps be exclusively for Cbeebies watchers! 

You do not have to confine 'gifts of good' to charity style Christmas gifts. Once again, jumping on the Eco bandwagon, one could hypothesize that any gift that was not made entirely of plastic, with enough 'buffering' packaging around it to house two homeless people, can be classified as ecologically sound! This train of thinking could without doubt justify classifying a 'Wine tasting for two gift pack', that incidentally dispensed of all unnecessary packaging, completely and utterly as a 'gift of good'. For example, it certainly contains no plastic, it sustains local farming! The fact that you get free wine to taste becomes completely rudimentary!

Of course the real 'gifts of good' are priceless (no, not diamond rings!). Christmas gifts that have no monetary value, such as forsaking Christmas Eve with friends and family to help out in a homeless shelter. Or those supermarket schemes in which you 'buy an extra gift for a child', or contributing to your children's' school 'Tree-aid'. Things that embrace and embody the true meaning of Christmas, such as coming together as a family, spending quality time with your children or including an elderly relative in festive activities and cheer. It is these gifts that are truly 'gifts of good'. 

Christmas gifts of good can also include creating traditions and lasting memories of sentiment. Rituals such as leaving a mince pie and a Scotch for Santa and a bag of carrots for the Reindeer can be made extra special by writing a note or creating something that can be treasured and reused each year, such as a place mat. 

It is by embracing the memorable moments of Christmas that one can truly feel that they have contributed to goodwill! Take as many photos as possible, not only will this allow you to look back fondly, but it will also enable to you to make Christmas gifts for next year, such as personalised calendars, or picture mugs. 

Once you are charitied-out and have decided that you have had enough of Christmas and the Christmas gifts that come with it, you can always console yourself with the fact that it is just 'one day', it will be over before you know it, normality will resume, and that there is always that chocolate making workshop that you have booked yourself on to look forward to!

Related article: Presenting - The Real Christmas Elves and Santa's little helpers (Christmas Gifts)