Oprah and the Christmas Gift

For years I have been buying the toy for the needy child at Christmas. This year I didn’t. There have been a couple of things that have made me rethink this practice. First, media reports of Oprah giving a large sum of money to a family where the father has cancer. The second, my daughter came home with a gift card to buy something for a special needs kid. Now, buying something for a 12 year old ‘normal’ kid is hard enough. But how do I buy something for a ‘special needs’ kid that I know nothing about?

As to Oprah, my first reaction was that the money would have been better spent on donating to cancer research. That way, she potentially helps all cancer sufferers, not just this one. And the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. In this case, one family got $250,000. Where does that leave every other family in a similar situation? Why this family in particular, and why cancer when there are other situations as bleak, if not more so? Do we want the situation where those who receive charity are determined by lottery, a screening committee, or some other process that determines who wins the prize - or perhaps what is judged to bring the best media ratings?

As for the  Christmas toy. Again, as I walk into the stores near Christmas I still see tags waiting to be taken. So again the charities will need to determine who gets Santa and who misses out. I’m glad I’m not the one that makes the choice. Another, perhaps cynical observation. There is clearly something in this form of charity for the retailers - it obviously does not hurt their bottom line. And that, for me, is part of the issue.

We live in a culture that has commercialised Christmas to the extent that it must really help alienate many of those who already feel they are on the margins of society. What pain the parent who struggles to make a simple Christmas for their kids must go through. And what of the kids themselves who miss out on many of the things that others take for granted all year round feel at this time of year?

There is another form of gift available at this time of year from some of the charities. I saw one the other day that allowed me to purchase basic school supplies for a child. Now while this may not be as ‘sexy’ as a new doll or model car, what value is there in a good education?

I know that toys are important to kids and I am not opposed to the idea of giving them to the less fortunate. But the idea of selecting a toy or other gift for an unknown child is really guess work. It is difficult enough buying something for someone you know well let alone a complete stranger. Really, I have no idea as to its suitability.

Perhaps there is an alternative, and that is to resist the commercialisation of Christmas. If we were to simplify Christmas and give more of what we would save by doing so to organisations working to better our world - whether it be medical research, charities that help people to stand on their own two feet, or other good cause - more would experience the spirit of Christmas. And perhaps the Christmas spirit would be experienced all year round.