As I’ve gotten older, Christmas isn’t about the presents, shopping and outdoing your neighbours on the Christmas lights. It’s all about being grateful for the little things that Christmas brings us. Obviously, when you’re a child, all you think about is who’s going to land the star roles of Mary and Joseph in the Nativity play, circling the toys you want in the Argos catalogue and wondering which present will be your “big” present underneath the tree. And as children, I guess you don’t think about the littlest things to be grateful for when you’re knee-deep in wrapping paper admiring your presents.
From the age of 18, I never really thought about receiving tons of presents as a priority for Christmas. As for me, I’m someone who loves to give people presents. I love seeing their faces when they open them and (hopefully) love what I’ve bought them. Sometimes seeing a person’s reaction is the best gift of all.
Christmas shouldn’t have to be about lavishly spending money on presents or spending lots of money for something that lasts 24 hours. I would rather show gratitude for the things I already have this Christmas. For me, that’s the greatest gift of all.
As the title says, it’s important to be grateful for the little things at Christmas. But it doesn’t just have to be the smallest of things, it can be the biggest of things too. For example, it could be your family and friends, pets, your home, food, water etc. The littlest things could be something like having time off work over the Christmas holidays, the smell of your Christmas dinner cooking, or being able to contribute your culinary skills to the epic meal or the Eastenders Christmas Day episode.
Showing gratitude at Christmas is something I’m aiming to do every festive season from now on. What means more to me at Christmas is spending much-needed and blessed time with loved ones. Helping others out at Christmas, hugging loved ones a little tighter and showing how grateful I am that they’re in my life, no matter how long or short I’ve known them. That’s how I want to share my gratitude this Christmas.
When it comes to gratitude, we all show gratitude for different things. And what we’re each grateful for at Christmas may differ from each other, and that’s ok!
