One Bow Tie o’ the Day gives us a mix of red and gold Christmas colors, while the other shows us wrapped Christmas gifts. Snoopy and Woodstock Tie o’ the Day suggests we write our wish list letter to Santa ASAP, before the deluge of letters from kids asking for ponies arrives at the North Pole. If you’re early with your requests, you have a better chance of getting what you want. The elves can only cobble so many toys, and items go quickly. You might not be able to get a rain check on some products.
As for the filled stocking Tie o’ the Day, all I can say is that whoever filled it with these dandy gifts must have been successful in the Black Friday chaos. And although Christmas is not about commercialization, gift giving is symbolic of the real “reason for the season.” The Three Wise Men didn’t show up empty-handed, and the gifts they carried had to be bought from someone. The gifts were things that had monetary value. They did not cost $0.00.
My point is this: Although we decry the game of materializing Christmas by getting caught up in all the shopping, the giving of gifts to friends and family and charities we value is symbolic of higher values than the monetary values.
When we buy a gift for someone, we are giving them more than we stop to consider. It “costs” us the time we take to decide what exact things will show the message of singular care we feel for each separate recipient. It costs us the time to find and buy the gift. It costs us time to wrap a gift. And you know darn well you take the time to choose the “right” wrapping paper for each gift.
Also, a gift costs us part of our paycheck, which means it costs the time it took for you to work for the amount of money on the gift’s price tag. Most of us “spend” that time on many people. Time adds up. Time’s value is incalculable, folks. We each get a limited amount of it.
[If you MAKE things to give others, you’re probably spending significantly more time on gifts. However, you also spend money on purchasing whatever supplies or ingredients you will need to create your home-made offering.]
All of this is not to say that we can put a price on what a gift recipient means to us. A person on your gift list is not worth only the monetary value of the gift you give (or the number of gifts), just as your worth to the person who gives you a gift is not tied to the gift’s monetary value. The act of giving is the message.
HOLIDAY TIE TALLY: 21 Bow ties. 52 Neckties.