Snowflakes in the air.... Ahhh Christmas time. It's the most wonderful time of the year!!! I love Christmas... well I should say I love the all the days right after Thanksgiving up until the 25th of December! I am "one of those people" who look for gifts waaaaay before any holiday season, and start playing all the traditional holiday tunes a long ways before anyone even gets their pumpkins off the porch. there's just something so beautiful, different, and innocent about Christmas. If you take the holiday the "right way", Christmastime should be full of love, joy, peace, and giving- not about the gifts WE get, the stuff that stresses US out, or making sure EVERYONE is happy. Everything, all the time, no matter what we do, should always put Jesus in the center, not the side. That dosen't mean that we have to attend every live nativity in our town, only watch The Nativity Story (good movie though), put signs everywhere that say "Jesus is the Reason for the Season", and close our eyes and ears at every Santa Claus related thing. We can bring Christ into everything we do by using the fruits of the spirit, and doing everything in love as Jesus did. We can accept the fact that we are not always going to get what we want, we can't always please everyone, and that He is our Prince of Peace! "Well Sharhaiah, here's the thing" you say " I still haven't gotten most (or any) of my shopping done!" Well then, its good you came here, because I've put together a simple little gift guide for you. It's not exactly to par like those Nordstrom's, or Real Simple Magazine gift guides, but I sure hope it will help!
Sparkle the Stars Holiday Gift Guide 2012!
-For the Christmas Crazy:
1.Christmas (album) by Michael Bublé- swingy jazzy Christmas tunes!
2.We Have a Savior- Hillsong Christmas album- Christmas worship album
3.A Family Christmas by James C. Dobson- our family's favorite Christmas book! Very touching true stories.
-For the Kid who has everything:
1.Mr. Food Face Plate- what kid would like this?
2.Constructible Drinking Straw- an awesome way to drink your milk!
3. Okay- if all else fails- get them a gift card... to a bookstore!
-For Guys:
1.I know that girls play guitar too, but I know that my brother would really like this pick punch.
2.What guy doesn't want a nice scarf? It's made out of alpaca too!
3.Not for sale...yet, but these pillows could easily be made if you're the crafting kind
-For the Ladies:
1.Captivating by John and Stasi Eldredge- every young woman should own this book!
2. Get her a cookbook or twenty
3. Society6 has some pretty iPhone covers including this one
-For the Jesus Freak:
1. If he/she doesn't already have Crazy Love by Francis Chan- get it!
2. Pay for them to attend the Jesus Culture Conference in Redding California
3.For the Sake of the World (album) by Bethel
-For the Techie:
1.iPhone Pocket Projector... now you can project your movies on your iPhone (iPhone 4) to your walls
2. Instagram Photos? Wanting to do something cool with all those iPhone photos you have? Here's an iPhone printer!
-For the hard to shop for/ the person who doesn't need anything:
1. I actually did this this year. I have two groups of people who just asked for gift cards, or a service (babysitting, cleaning, etc.) But I had a better idea- why not give to people who need more than we do? I donated a portion of my Christmas money to Samaritian's Purse in these people's honor.
2. Gift cards- Starbucks, amazon, your local book store, iTunes ( dosen't take up any room in the house!)
3. IOU coupons- make them fancy, or type it up. The coupons can be for from anything to a babysitting service ( sitter employees appreciate this!), a free homemade pie or cookies, a song you wrote yourself, a date, a picnic, a hike, a party... be creative! It's the thought that counts!
I hope that my little gift guide helped a little bit. Most of the things above are things that I actually have, or heard of from Pinterest or word of mouth. I sure hope you enjoy the holiday season! I wish you all a very merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
-Sharhaiah :)
