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Giving is not better than receiving. Why do I say this? Maybe it is because I am a grouchy mother looking down the barrel of the Christmas season. Or maybe it is because I am still a kid at heart. Either way, I do not find most giving to be fulfilling.

With the Christmas season coming up there are many families that are scrambling around trying to come up with enough money to make this holiday a happy one. My question is: why? Christmas shouldn't be a time of stress in order to make it happy. That doesn't even make sense. It should be a time of family and friends, joyful time together, and spreading the love and peace that is traditional during this season. No one should feel they "have to" buy a gift for another person. Just spending time together should be gift enough.

This year my husband and I have decided to purchase Christmas gifts only for our children. We will not be searching the stores trying to find "the perfect gift" for each person on our list- many of who we never knew well enough to know what would be a perfect gift to begin with. We won't be standing in line to purchase gift cards that we feel are impersonal and just a way of exchanging money in order to keep up appearances. And most importantly we won't be holding our breath while our friends open the gift, hoping for words of approval and thankfulness.

Yes, receiving is better than giving. This year we will be receiving the gift of a stress-free holiday. We will be able to sit back and enjoy the music, the lights, and the love. We will be free to spend our time visiting with friends and family of our choice without having expectations. We will be receiving, but through this receiving we will be giving- our hearts- which is a gift I value more than any other I could receive.

Learn more about this author, Karen Greenberg.
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