4 gifts for kids: no wrapping or shopping required

Finding the perfect gifts for kids isn’t easy. But, I have some ideas. Now, here’s the thing. These four ideas won’t fit under the tree, don’t need wrapping, and require zero shopping! Sounds good, huh?!

I love when, in Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, the Grinch learns there’s more to Christmas. Seuss writes,

And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes, or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled ’till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.

Christmas means a lot more. It’s a time to enjoy your kids. It’s also a time for worship and reflection. Listen, enjoy watching your kids unwrap gifts. After that, consider what you’re giving your kids during the rest of the year. Are you pointing them to something more? I think you will—if you give your kids these four gifts.

Is reading God’s Word a chore or an opportunity for you?

Give your kids the gift of inspiration. Confession: I spend more time correcting my children and telling them what they are doing wrong than encouraging them.

If you look through Scripture, you see both of these things. There are moments of being challenged and moments of encouragement. Now, I get it. When you’re trying to keep your one son from punching his brother, it’s tough to encourage your kids—especially when they’re young.

But, as your kids get older, learn the fine art of encouraging and inspiring your children. Are you known for calling out the bad behavior but not lifting your kids up?

Ephesians 4:29 says: “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.”

I read that verse and I’m reconvicted. What if you were the dad who strengthened his kids by the way he talked. What if you inspired your kids by your words and actions?

Do your words build up or tear down? 

Gift #3: The gift of FAITHFULNESS.

I once worked with a guy—let’s call him Ron. I’ve changed his name to protect the guilty! Ron was so unreliable. He would set up a lunch meeting with me and not show up. This happened all of the time! Now, Ron might’ve been super reliable to others. But, for me, he wasn’t reliable. I couldn’t count on Ron. He wasn’t what I’d call faithful.

Deuteronomy 28:1 says: “And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.”

Now, don’t read this and think that you have to become God to your family. I don’t want you to be your kid’s hero. But, when you are faithful to God’s commands, you set an example for your children of what God is like. They start to realize, “My dad, when he said he was going to pick me up from practice, he was there.” Or, “My dad, he said he was going to love my mom and he has.” You get the idea.

When you are faithful, your children can more easily connect the dots to God’s character by looking at your character. I’m not saying we have to be perfect as dads. But, hear me, even when I make mistakes—when I’m a jerk—and I yell at my kids—I can close that loop later and say, “Man, I’m really sorry. I should not have yelled at you and I hope you will forgive me.” Even that is an act of faithfulness because, at that moment, I’m being faithful to God. I want to be clear here. You can’t be perfect. But, you can be faithful. You’re not the rock of your family. Jesus Christ is the rock of your family.

Would your kids call you faithful?  

Gift #4: The gift of TIME.

Years ago, Steve Farrar wrote a book called Point Man. It’s one of my personal favorites. In the book, he talked about this notion that came around in the ’70s and 80’s—the idea that as parents we need to focus on spending quality time with our children. I’m not sure the phrase “quality time” existed before like 1980’s.

Here’s what I know: quality time seems to manifest itself out of quantity time. I know you’re busy running from one thing to the next. I was talking to a dad one time. He said, “Yeah, my son is 9 years old. So, he’s basically lived half of his life in our home. The next nine years I’ve only got half of the time left.” This dad kept thinking he had this 18-year journey and he was halfway through it. I had to burst his bubble. I let him know he was actually about 80 percent of the way through.

Here’s the math.

• When your child turns 13, he gets involved in the youth group.
• When he turns 16, he gets a job.
• When he turns 17, he’s searching for colleges.

The years from 13-18 feel like two years. Here’s the deal: you can give your kids all sorts of gifts. One of the big gifts you can give is the gift of time.

James 4:13-14 puts it this way: “Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— ¹⁴ yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.”

James is reminding us that life is short. The first 18 years can seem like a marathon. But, it’s really just getting to the first mile marker. The odds would tell us we’re going to live 30-40 more years with our kids outside of our house.

Are you taking as much time as you can to spend with your kids?