When I was in middle school, I asked for an mp3 player for Christmas. I remember it well. It was very portable, had 32MB of internal memory (could fit 8 or 9 songs) and you could expand the memory by buying a card.

My family did our Christmas gift exchange, and I opened the gift that was supposed to be an mp3 player, only it wasn’t. It was a portable CD player that could play mp3 CDs. So instead of a 32MB mp3 player, my parents got me a CD player that could play a disc with 700MB of mp3s. Winner winner chicken dinner, right?

Wrong.

I was disappointed. I really wanted that mp3 player.

The short version of the story is I exchanged what they bought me for what I wanted, but there’s something bigger going on here.

Why was I disappointed? … Because I misunderstood the meaning of Christmas. My response to this Christmas gift (and there are more stories like it) is disheartening to me. I honestly still feel a tinge of guilt for it.

During this Advent season, let’s not put our hope in the gifts we could possibly receive. Let’s put our hope in a Saviour who does not disappoint, but who gave Himself as a sacrifice for the redemption of the world. The gifts are nice, but not the reason we celebrate. And not the point.

Jesus is the point. And let’s not just put our hope in Him, but let’s follow His example by giving gifts that matter.

If you think back to the best Christmas memory you have, chances are it has very little to do with a gift, and very much to do with the giver and the people you were surrounded with. Jesus gave of Himself. Shall we follow in His footsteps and give of ourselves?

For more ideas on giving meaningful gifts, check out the Advent Conspiracy website or the ReThinking Christmas website.