Clinton Griffiths: Life Lessons from the Gifting Shelf

Every year around Christmas, post-meal and before the next yuletide western begins, someone starts yelling “It’s time! It’s time!” The family scoots and shuffles around the living room at my parent’s place in New Mexico. 

There’s always a measure of unbridled excitement, a few grumbles, dutiful chair scooting and a reference to “Clark” at least twice before the group fully assembles. 

It’s a collage of generations now 15 people strong. 

THE THOUGHT COUNTS

We always try to do a gift exchange. It’s never big or extravagant but truly the thought that counts. Each year as the paper and packages fly open there are plenty of oohs and aahs to go around. There’s often a pair of work gloves, a warm sweatshirt or sweater in school colors, a holiday knick-knack and something covered in chocolate.  

I’ve found over time that buying for an agricultural proprietor (my folks) is harder than beating Yellowstone’s Rip in a fist fight. 
What do you get someone whose wish list starts at $15K? Fencing pliers rarely wear out, cordless tools are plentiful, and tax time business expenses are already bought. 

There have been plenty of rain gauges through the years. Iron yard art is common. A hat with ear flaps. I’ve tried a litany of gifts, and I always know how I’ve done by whether it ends up on the “gifting shelf.”

MY GIFTING GOAL

A 4'x5' metal shelf in the barn, the gifting shelf that holds a myriad of dusty presents from Christmas past. Like markers of time, the gifts leave the house and are carefully placed there for future use. Only they never leave or get used. 

When I was younger (in my 20s) it used to frustrate me. I grumbled and mumbled whenever stumbling across a hard-thought holiday handout sitting in its unused dusty glory. Now, it’s a challenge. It’s a goal. 

Can I give something of worth in the coming year? Now older, I didn’t say much older, I know the thoughts are what matter. It’s the moments of ooh and aah, the excitement of discovery and the time laughing and sharing these memories together that matter. 

The gifts are the passenger, not the purpose. Presents, while never perfect, are perfectly appreciated.

This holiday season may you enjoy time with family enough that the gifts gather dust in perpetuity on your very own gifting shelf. 

Clinton Griffiths is a TV newsman, turned magazine editor, with a passion for good stories. He believes the best life lessons can be found down a dirt road.