For his 18th Christmas, the grown man received a very special gift: a treasure chest. Beautifully decorated, with a lock and key. Just as if it had been taken from one of the adventure stories he had long since outgrown.
The content: five letters to the Christ Child. In the first one, when he was four, he drew his wishes. A tree, a car, a star. In the second, the name is already scrawled on the note so that there is no mistake in the Christmas workshop. In the third and fourth letters, the child wishes for toys and a few other little things in beautiful handwriting.
By the fifth, at eight, it already seems to know exactly where the Christ Child will be shopping and roughly what budget is available.
In his memory, many of his wishes came true, but he was rarely disappointed.
Gift-giving needs to be learned, Wishes too
How wonderful when gift-giving succeeds! The key to this is both difficult and simple: what if we talked to everyone we want to give gifts to and expect gifts from in advance? We are not talking about "orders" to the Christ Child, although that can work well, see above.
No, what is meant here is a curious getting to know each other: "What are you interested in?" "What have you particularly enjoyed recently that you would like to have more of than you want or can afford?" "What else would you like to learn?"
"Which book has captivated you so much recently that you couldn't put it down, and why?" "Where would you like to go on vacation next year and what would you need for it?" "What warms your soul, what fills your heart?"
Abundance creates abundance
Perhaps it's the conversations themselves, over cookies, tea or mulled wine, but also online or on the phone, that bring a little magic to Advent.
But perhaps we will be delighted to receive inspiring ideas as gifts and can swap the stress of shopping for a successful treasure hunt. Perhaps the recipient will be surprised at how well the Christ Child has listened.
And perhaps this will also create familiarity and warmth and much more. Who knows!
With this in mind, we wish you an enchanting Advent season and a wonderful festive season,
Yours, Cornelia Martens,
Marie-Claire Martens and
the entire EAP team
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