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Making Gifts A Pleasure
by: Roy Thomsitt
As we reach the time of year when Christmas items start to appear in the stores, and thoughts of vacations start to wind down with the shortening daylight, it is a good time to think about gifts. Not only the gifts, though, but also the practise of giving.

Offering a gift can be a mutual pleasure; some might say it should be a pleasure for giver and recipient. A problem with a modern commercial Christmas, however, is that buying gifts can become a chore. Often it is a stress ridden chore in the dying days before Christmas Day, as everything gets left to the last minute.

A true gift, though, should bring with it no stress; it should come from the heart to be a true gift, and not be out of duty. If someone is resentful of having to spend time and money buying Christmas gifts, then the result is not a gift but a token of duty.

Why not make this next Christmas a time to make the choosing of individual gifts a pleasure for yourself, and for the recipient. Often in the last minute haste to buy gifts in time for Christmas Day, people become detached from not only the purpose, but the person to whom they are giving. Bought hastily in a crowded stress filled store, scarcely a thought may pass for the individual on the receiving end, however close they may be to you.

Most of the year, if not all, can be filled with work, commuting, rushing here and there, stress, and self focus. How about time and attention for those who really matter in your life, whether spouse, offspring, other relatives, friends or colleagues? The choosing of a gift, and presentation of it, can be a silent way of giving each of them special attention, and then culminating with their pleasure at the receipt of the gift.

Behind every good present there is a person who worked hard to make the best choice. The secret to buying the perfect gift is to think about the message you want to send out, when the receiver opens it. If you think about his or her hobbies, to his or her vacation plans etc. It means you have really studied that person and you bought the present precisely for them, for that occasion; in this case, Christmas.

Friendship and caring are themselves are a gift, so you can see that if you put some real selfless effort into choosing gifts, the value of the gift is magnified. That is something which will shine through the wrapping paper, and in the moment of giving the pleasure that you feel in making the gesture will radiate in the warmth of your expression. The choosing and the giving of a gift are inseparable.

With Christmas some way off, now is a good time to start thinking about the meaning of giving, so that by the time Christmas comes, there will be no thinking “oh, this Christmas gift business is a chore.”

Instead of thinking about the physical aspects and “inconvenience” of buying Christmas gifts, of the costs and effect on your credit card, think about the love, respect and caring that you feel for those to whom you will be giving. That way you will beat the stress before it surfaces, and enjoy the act of giving as a true pleasure.

About the author:
Roy Thomsitt is the owner of http://www.gifts-for-xmas.comand http://www.xmas-ornament.com


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Music for the Christmas Holidays
 by: Tony Wiseman

In our multi-cultural societies today the run up to Christmas is experienced in many different ways. The commercial version pioneered by Coca Cola's magazine advertisements which established the red suited Santa Claus image, washes over us all through the TV advertisements and the decorations in the High Streets and shopping Malls. They built on and reinforced the Victorian version of Christmas celebrations which was dramatised by Charles Dickens in 'A Christmas Carol' which established many of the associated food and garland rituals in the public imagination - and helped Coca Cola promote their winter beverage sales. Much of this is accompanied by 'seasonal' music in the form of carols and hymns - often coral arrangements but sometimes instrumental - especially brass bands and the dreaded sentimental Christmas pop songs.

Music is often a subtle way of getting under the radar and evoking emotional responses from our subconscious. The commercial focus on Christmas seeks to convert these feelings into purchases - sometimes in crude direct appeals to consume but often in a more indirect atmospheric ways. While the committed Christians concentrate on re-telling the Christmas story through as many media as possible, including music - using the Advent season to recharge their spiritual batteries and encourage others to join them. Their tunes and some times even the words are often hijacked by those who wish to evoke a warm hearted relaxed atmosphere for the sale of their particular goods.

Much of this activity assumes a common Christian heritage and must strike those who do not share that background very oddly, not to mention the truly seasonal issues for those in the Southern Hemisphere who celebrate Christmas in mid summer rather than the deep mid winter. There is also the rival celebration of New Year which is a predominantly secular affair with a very limited musical repertoire - mostly of Scottish origin for some reason and this eclipses Christmas in many countries. Christians adopted the pagan Winter Solstice celebrations as part of their missionary progress but those ties were loosened by the reformation and the French, American and Russian Revolutions amongst others.

The seasonal hit at Download2MP3.com is Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite with its Sugar Plum Fairy which fits neatly into the Victorian Christmas story telling context. While Debussy's Children's Corner with it's 'The Snow is Dancing' (Northern Hemisphere Christmas/Mid Winter associations) is another favourite and forms the backbone of our Children's Classics Collection which includes several of our shorter and lower priced recordings. Other beneficaiaries include our instrumental versions of the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah and Gounod's Ave Maria

Recordings like these are an ideal way to personalize those iPod or MP3 player gifts for a few dollars more - perhaps introducing children to the classics in an accessible, amusing and memorable way.



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