The Value of Giving

Creed asked for money the other day to buy some Christmas gifts at the elementary school’s holiday store. So, I gave him some. On the list, I marked a few names of people for whom he should buy gifts. Most importantly, his younger brother.

I also wrote a limit on the note as to how much he could spend on himself. The reason was simple: the idea is to buy gifts for other people and to experience the joy of giving, not to just buy for oneself. Even the note from the school mentioned the value of learning to give to others.

He came home that night with a trash bag of presents. Sure a few were for him, but that isn’t what excited him. He made fine purchases for his little brother, including a Batman figurine, balls, etc.

Creed far exceeded his list of people. His bag of presents included some for his cousins Stacey, Matthew, Jeremy and Aaron; his Aunt Kim and Uncle Bob; and several grandparents.

What impressed me most is the amount of effort he put into picking out presents. For Kim, as an example, Creed chose a Spiderman punching bag. After all, Kim spends a lot of time working out and walking these days. Creed thought she’d find this useful and fun. He choose a big, orange puffer worm for Uncle Bob since he believed that his great uncle liked orange.

He bought a new oven mitt and some dish towels for Mamaw Bobby. She definitely needed some. On the night that we stopped by her house, she pulled cookies out of the oven by grabbing the rack with a wooden ruler and using a dish rag. Probably not the safest choice. Creed smiled as his grandmother opened her gift and even used it a few moments later.

I don’t know all of the gifts he chose. Several went to his dad’s house. Others remain unopened as we haven’t seen those folks yet. What I do know is the value of the lesson. “This made my Christmas,” his Aunt Kim told him.

Why did he decide to buy them a gift? Because he saw something that made him think about them. It didn’t have to be an expensive purchase, it just required special attention.

A few days later, Creed asked for money to buy himself another pack of marbles at the holiday store. He said they only cost $1.00. So, I gave him $1.00. He looked quite distraught. After a few minutes, I asked him why he wasn’t happy since he would be able to get the marbles he wanted. His response? “Because I’ll only be able to buy something for myself and I can’t get Heath anything.”

That was enough for me. Sure, he was given more money to buy some extra gifts. He again made wonderful purchases showing much thought. Heath didn’t mind as he definitely benefitted from the experience.

While Creed did gain a bit of material items, he also learned the value of giving.