Thoughtful Thankmas

A few years ago Frank Costanza (the character played by Jerry Stiller on Seinfeld) developed a holiday he called "Festivus- a holiday for the rest of us." I think in his attempt to make a new tradition based on suiting his personal needs, he may have stumbled upon something.

I made an agreement with my siblings that, due to travel limitations and their involvement in support of our work in Nicaragua, we would not be exchanging gifts with them this holiday season. We did not get the word to Sheila's parents and the result was a wonderful, perspective-changing holiday I have named "Thankmas."

Thankmas this year fell on the second Wednesday of December which is just about halfway between Thanksgiving and Christmas. This date was chosen because it happened to be one of the few days Sheila and I were actually in New Mexico visiting her parents. This is a holiday where individuals are showered with gifts specific to their needs wants. It comes with the understanding that if there is not room or if weight restrictions keep it from making the subsequent flight, no one will call "foul."

Never did I think I would get excited about opening a Christmas gift - from here on known as a Thankmas gift - that contained a jar of peanut butter or Nutella. Both Nutella and peanut butter are available in Nicaragua, but only the extremely wealthy (of which there are few) can afford it. We are talking about a single, small jar costing upwards of $7 or $8. Beef jerky is not even available. Hairspray (Allow me to interject here: I have a saying: "I may be fat and ugly, but God gave me good hair." So, yes, I use hair spray and other product.) is not available in Nicaragua, hence great appreciation for the carefully selected can of men's hairspray.

Cinnamon Toast Crunch, my all-time favorite breakfast cereal - by the way, it's not just for breakfast anymore - is not a purchase one would make in Nicaragua, but is the perfect Thankmas gift. Cans of green beans, with their limited availability and high price tag, are also great Thankmas gifts.

Another part of the Thankmas tradition is to have all the favorite traditional Thanksgiving foods (Turkey and all the trimmings) one day and Christmas ham with its accouterments the next. Yes, it is a great deal of food, but the makers of my cholesterol and blood pressure medicines heartily endorse the tradition of my newly founded holiday.

The conclusion of the Thankmas holiday includes spreading out all the gifts received to plan their destination in our luggage. One cannot help but recognize what a blessing it is to be around others who not only know what you miss while in a developing nation, but appreciate that space and weight will impact what actually make the trip without hurt feelings.

The Thankmas celebration has brought to light what we already knew. There is a line between need and want. We have seen the "need" of those around us and have felt the "want" of things we miss. We are blessed to have family on both sides of the Clark and Holland clans willing to be flexible with specific wishes, whether spoken or unspoken. We were given the opportunity to see "wants" answered from our perception of a comfort item verses holiday fluff gifts that crowd luggage and take up space unnecessarily  These items presented a different warm feeling that showed some fore-thoughtfulness that we miss sometimes in trying to hunt for "the right" gifts.

God is good - all the time. And we really feel His caring arms through loved ones during Thankmas. So in addition to wishing you Happy Thanksgiving, and Merry Christmas, we offer up to you a very Thoughtful Thankmas.