For many, the Christmas holiday has evolved into nothing more than buying a bunch of gifts for a bunch of people and getting a bunch of gifts that cost a bunch of people a whole bunch of money. Gifts, gifts, gifts. Is that what this season is all about?

There are many reasons to celebrate the Christmas season and many ways in which to celebrate it. Giving gifts is one of those many ways. However, perhaps some of us need to reconsider our motives and expectations in gift giving. Perhaps we can learn from those who have looked more deeply than the names and items on a written-out list and the credit card’s limit.

As you ponder this year’s purchases, consider these thoughts and examine your motives:
• Rich gifts wax poor when givers prove unkind. —William Shakespeare
• The greatest gift you can give another is the purity of your attention. —Richard Moss
• May no gift be too small to give, nor too simple to receive, which is wrapped in thoughtfulness, and tied with love. —L.O. Baird
• You may give gifts without caring, but you can’t care without giving. —Frank A. Clark
• When I give, I give myself. —Walt Whitman
• There is no benefit in the gifts of a bad man. —Euripides
• What is a true gift? One for which nothing is expected in return. —Chinese Proverb
• The spirit in which a thing is given determines that in which the debt is acknowledged; it’s the intention, not the face value of the gift, that’s weighed. —Lucius Annaeus Seneca
• Give! Give the love you have received to those around you. You must love with your time, your hands, and your hearts. You need to share all that you have. —Mother Teresa

When our motives are pure, we may find that the reward in giving is more than just seeing someone smile and hearing a thank you:
• You always get back much more than you give. —Jimmy Carter
• We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give. —Winston Churchill
• Generous people are rarely mentally ill. —Karl Menninger
• To give without any reward, or any notices, has a special quality of its own. —Ann Morrow Lindbergh
• In the sphere of material things, giving means being rich. Not he who has much is rich, but he who gives much. —Erich Fromm

You can buy things and you can give gifts, but will your present reflect your genuine appreciation for the receiver? Will your gift simply fulfill an obligation or will it show you care? Maybe this is the year to put a little more thought into the gift selection process. Considering the wisdom of those who have gone before, you may find yourself in the midst of a merrier Christmas.