Dear Mrs. Kochan:
I am writing to commend you on your recent article “No More Stuff: A Christmas Revolt” which I read on the Catholic Exchange web site. I implemented this several years ago, and I think it is a marvelous thing to do. It's tough to do with a large extended family, but it still makes sense.
Sincerely,
Name withheld, Reading, PA
Greetings!
Loved the the article in Catholic Exchange and plan to use the thrust of it to ask family, friends and parents in our CCD program to make monetary gifts to a particular Catholic day nursery here in Manhattan. It is run by two very senior Franciscan sisters with several low-paid woman. It is a gift to the mothers so they can work — most are what today are called “single parents” and a wonderful gift to the children; they are being taught the true faith at such very young ages. I don't know, personally, one truly poor person so all of my contacts can afford to share from the goodness the Lord has given us. Sister Lucy, I believe in her late seventies, and Sister Mary in her mid- to late eighties, work fulltime — there are no Franciscans to take their place — no one willing to work as hard as they do and they are always desperate for money to pay their bills. Thank you for the inspiration.
Mary Durkan, New York City
Dear Mary,
I wholeheartedly agree with your opinion about the accumulation of stuff. I also try to keep Christmas simple but have to swim against the flow of social trends.
One area of success for me is that I have a number of friends who have so much that I didn’t hesitate to give an “alternative gift” to them. One of my favorite charities is Franklin Graham's “Samaritan's Purse” through whom I’ve given a few goats, chickens and the like. For 40th birthdays, my tradition has been to send a donation to Samaritan's Purse and write the birthday person a funny card about them being an old goat and sending a young goat to Africa. A doctor at work had a baby and I sponsored chickens and food for poor children as her baby gift. She was so touched that she and her husband have decided to give everyone in her family donations through Samaritan’s Purse.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Tammy, Virginia
Hello Mary,
I just wanted to say “Hurray” for your article. I am trying to ease my extended family into simplifying Christmas. This year they agreed to put all names into a hat (my parents, their 5 children and 4 in-laws, and 12 grandchildren) and pull one name, and the gift limit of spending is $30.
In my husband's family, there are 22 members who get together for the holidays (his mother, 4 children and 3 in-laws, 11 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren). We have what is called a Chinese exchange. Each person purchases a gift with a limit between $15 and $20. We bring them wrapped. Everyone gets a number.
The first person to have his number pulled chooses any wrapped gift that he wants and unwraps it. The next person who has his number pulled can then choose an unopened gift, or any one that has already been unwrapped. And so it goes. This has eased my stress level considerably. No more shopping for the perfect gift for umpteen people. I am hoping my mother sticks to the plan. My parents are retired and buying for 21 people plus each other is an expensive undertaking.
Wishing you a relatively restful Advent,
Karen Burn
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