What if every gift you give this Christmas could reflect more than just your taste, or care for a person, but your values as well?
As Advent unfolds, I find myself pausing amid the rush of the season to ask: what does it truly mean to give a gift? Around me, the world shouts: buy more, bigger, newer. Yet in the quiet of prayer and reflection, I return to the manger, to the humble Child who came not with wealth or spectacle, but with love.
Pope Francis reminded us that every purchase is a political act, a choice that carries consequences for our world: the workers who made the gift, the environment that bore its cost, the communities it touches. Christmas, he says, is at risk of being “hijacked by consumerism,” but it can instead become an occasion to live our faith in the marketplace by choosing gifts that reflect justice, care and love.
With Pope Leo XIV now guiding the Church, I am inspired anew to place humility, solidarity and mercy at the centre of my life, and my gift-giving. Ethical gifts; a locally made item, an experience shared, or a donation to those in need, become a way to honour Christ’s Incarnation, to see His face in the vulnerable, and to act responsibly in our world.
For my children, I will try to give what they truly need, not just what they think they want. In doing so, I hope to teach gratitude, patience, and the joy of simplicity. In a culture that pressures us to accumulate, this can feel radical. And yet, it is precisely this kind of mindful generosity that echoes the love we celebrate at Christmas: love freely given, without expectation, for the good of others.
This year, I want my gifts, and the choices behind them, to carry the weight of their meaning; to reflect that every act of giving, every purchase we make, is a chance to live the Gospel. That is how we reclaim the spirit of Christmas: by letting love, justice and tenderness guide our hands, as well as our hearts.
