Ah, the Christmas season…the Christmas shopping season. What to get; what to give? Who do I include on my list? Who do I lop off my list? What a problem: what do I get for the person who has everything?

Well, few of us have “everything” but many (most of us who would be at a computer to read this) have “enough.” Enough stuff. Too much stuff. What do I get rid of now? How can I get rid of that; it was a gift from my dear ___? But I don’t need more things.

I’m not a shoppaholic in the usual sense, but I’ve been known to have my moments. I will seldom come home with “too many clothes” but I’ve been known to buy more for ME than I buy for others if I get pointed in the direction of a store that carries items related to my hobbies, and you, dear readers, know what those are.

And so I’ve been reevaluating my own possessions. Yes, I have too much in certain categories. Compared to the closets of many Americans, my collection of clothes is small, but that is only “in comparison.” After all, I can only wear one pair of pants, one shirt, and one sweater at a time. There is a saying, “She who dies with the most stash, still dies.”

Back to Christmas shopping: How should I reevaluate my shopping in light of the too much stuff stuffing the closets of many of my giftees? Three ideas come to mind: Give the gift of time, give the gift of service, or give to a charity in the name of my loved ones.

A worthy charity that I have personal knowledge of and which puts the donations directly to service is The God’s Child Project. There are lots of links to follow. Please consider this group when you make decisions about giving to others this Christmas. We've found that some of our relatives have been pleased and touched when we've given in their name to this organization and others like it.