Your Alternative, Guilt Free, Anti-Capitalist, World Changing, Non-Sucking Advent Gift Guide

Advent is one of my favorite times of the year. I love all the lights, the anticipation, the overflowing goodwill and acts of kindness. If we pay attention the hope of the promise of the advent, literally coming, arrival or presence of Jesus, it becomes tangible and joyous. Advent teaches us to be ready, ready to love, ready to receive the gift of Christ.

There are things I don’t like about Advent. I like you don’t like the rampant commercialization of the season but then again I don’t like that about our society in general. Its true that Advent is a season of preparation, but it has become a season of preparation through shopping. Perhaps what I don’t like even more than the materialism is the complaining about the materialism. Everybody hates it but we all fall prey to it. Everyone rants on how we’ve lost the true reason for the season (yes I’m talking to you keep-christ-in-christmasers too) but yet everyone’s credit card balance swells while our Christmas trees are filled with crap we don’t need. We do a lot of talking about it but nothing seems to change. Well I’m here to do my part.

Behold I bring you great tidings of great joy of a gift giving guide of the alternative kind; gifts that are meaningful, guilt free and keep you from falling into the trap of the capitalist, bourgeois, ad execs that tell you that to give you have to spend lots of money or buy plastic crap from China. That’s right, over the next few weeks I am going to share some gift giving ideas that can not only brings smiles and appreciation to the givee and a sense of pride to the giver, but also hope, love, and faith to the world.

Stay tuned!!

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NB: This article is reposted with permission. To see more Advent postings from Rev. Robert Cooke go to his blog  neo(un)orthodoxy