A Heritage Christmas 2025

A Heritage Christmas: Giving Gifts, Not Just Goods

                                               Photo Property of the Durham Museum Archives, Omaha Nebraska, R. Paskach

I find myself connecting on a deep level to the girl in this photo. Here she is, during Christmastime, gazingly deeply into a window display surrounded by others. While they all seem to be enjoying the general ambience of the holidays, this girl is different. She gazes upwards, front of the line, entranced at an object in the window. It isn't the sleigh, or the doll, but something wondrous. Mysterious. Unknown. 

While I don't suppose I'll ever know what her treasure ever was, I see this Christmas through nostalgic eyes. Families and strangers all together during a season of service. Widespread wealth and comfort wasn't as common then as it is today. Christmas wasn't dozens of presents each, and it wasn't disposable. It was a time for family to express love through thoughtful selections in a more difficult world. 

The culture of disposable goods has reached a crisis in the United States. And while manufacturing existed in this day it certainly didn't reach the extent of today's fast-produced and affordable products. I notice that many of the items seen in antique shops didn't end up in landfills like our products do now. They are still treasured, valued, loved, and beautiful. 

So, in a world of disposal and over-abundance its not difficult to imagine why it's hard to shop for our loved ones at Christmas time. Every year I find myself digging to think of something as personal and lasting as the year's before. Online shopping is overwhelming for me. Often, I browse pages and pages without running into anything of lasting beauty, experience, or value. But it is out there if you know what to look for. 

When it comes to Christmas, I stick to a few key shopping rules: 

Is it beautiful

Does it lead to a(n) experience(s)

Will it make them smile

Can they share it with others

These, of course, wont always be in one "pretty package" but the general guideline has saved my gifting from falling flat. My husband, bless him, is the eternal 12 year old. One year I gifted him a fire performance staff. It was big, it looked dangerous, and was completely outside my realm of expertise. I had no idea how he would receive it, but there was something about the find that said "this is going to bring him joy." I loved that christmas. I can't tell you how much fun that silly fire stick has been. He performs while we give candy to trick or treaters, when family visits, and even for the kids in his youth group. When I was willing to set aside my concern of "will he like this", I got out of my own and picked one of the more thoughtful gifts I've shared with him over the years. 

I think an heirloom christmas isn't about what the gift is. It's about how you make the person feel seen by the gift. Coming back to the earlier photo, that girl is seeing something in that window that somehow makes her see herself. By spending time connecting to the ones we love during the year it becomes much easier to present something at christmas that says "I see you, too."