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Tis the Season
Standing in the post office in early September, I was amused at the shocked reaction the postal worker had to the customer’s request. “Christmas stamps! It’s too early for Christmas stamps!” The customer replied, “But I’ve finished all my Christmas cards and wanted to get them stamped so they’ll be ready to go right after Thanksgiving.” I’m definitely not starting Christmas cards. BUT I have started thinking about Christmas gift ideas for grandkids and elderly parents.
Logically, the holidays are quickly approaching. Our duties as caregivers of elderly parents, coupled with helping our children as well as grandparenting rarely leaves us much time as it is. Throw holiday preparation into the mix, and we can all use some preplanning. Here are a few ideas to get the ball rolling.
Christmas Gift Cards
If you are going to be ordering any gifts, now’s a good time to shop. Supplies should be full and discounts should be starting.
Christmas Gifts for Kids and Grandkids
Christian Christmas CDs
I love to treat my children and grandchildren to a new Christmas CD each year. I usually opt for the Christian ones because there are so many great ones out there and more every year. That way we can enjoy the old songs we know so well as well as great new songs, all centered on the joy of our Savior’s birth.
Some of our favorites over the years are Christmas Offerings by Third Day, Winter Wonderland by Point of Grace, andTennessee Christmas. I appreciate that It has a nice blend of Christian and just plain fun songs done in an enjoyable, jazzy style. It’s my top favorite for sure!
One great timesaver for busy caregivers is to shop for your Christmas cds at Amazon or ChristianBook. You can usually listen to samples online, place your order, and wait for it to arrive. Saves time and, in my case anyway, money. If I go into the store, I will usually spend a lot more because there are just so many neat things there! Here’s a couple of new ones:
Christian Praise and Worship CDs
Another set of music CDs we all love is the WOW series – full of the latest praise and worship songs from the past year. I love them as much as my grandkids! WOW 2019 is now available for pre-order. I’m definitely adding that to my shopping list for my grandkids! Click here to check it out for yourself!
Nativity Sets for Kids
Nativity sets are wonderful at Christmas and make a great gift for our grandchildren and children. I’ve given my own grandkids different nativity sets over the years. Some fancy for looks like the Sam’s Club gorgeous Bethlehem City bought many years ago. It was like the Dept. 56 Christmas Villages that you see all the time, only set in Bethlehem with camels instead of old cars, and the nativity scene instead of Christmas carolers. I love it as do my kids! I’m not sure if you can find that any more, but another great nativity set that used to be available and was great for kids is the “What God Wants for Christmas” set from Family Life and now available at Amazon.
We have also enjoyed the Fisher Price kids nativity set In the past.
I’ve sometimes given the cds and the nativity sets early, on Thanksgiving, so they can enjoy them during the current holiday. It makes a fun and festive addition to Thanksgiving Day and starts the season out focusing on Jesus!
Christmas Gifts for Elderly Parents
Christian Wall Calendars
A Christian wall calendar with Bible verses can be a wonderful way of encouraging and sharing God’s love with others. The really nice ones can get scooped up quickly, so now is the best time to shop for them. Most local Christian bookstores should have some in stock now.If your time is very limited, though, you might want to call ahead to be sure your store has them in stock.
Amazon has a nice selection right now too. It can be a little challenging to find them if you don’t have the ISBN. I generally buy them locally in Christian book store for calendars I’m giving to friends and relatives locally, but I like to order online for those I’m mailing to. By ordering calendars online, you often save on shipping costs. In addition, it’s really hard to find packaging for calendars as their shape is so big. Ordering online means you save on packaging costs as well. One of my favorite calendars to give is the Thomas Kinkade Scripture Calendars. My elderly relatives love it, as do my kids, and everyone in between. You have to be careful when ordering this online as they also publish some without the Bible verses. Amazon is currently carrying several of the Scripture versions with many at a great price! Like…
Sandwich Generation Christmas Prep
Well, that’s enough to get us started. In the meantime, it’s such a gorgeously crisp, cool, autumn day. I think I’ll make myself a cup of hot chocolate, order some Christmas wall calendars, while I listen to some of my favorite Christmas songs and hymns. Merry Autumn!
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