Reply #5: Make something yourself

[bhikkhu]

I have always been generally artistic, so this may be unfair, but nearly everybody knows how to make something. One of the bad things about current times is that we are surrounded by things made in vast quantities by machines. Receiving such a thing for a gift, however nice it appears, is a big notch down from something that is actually made by a person. If a thing has a human touch, some of the skill and effort and attention of the maker in it, how much better for the self-esteem of the recipient!

People go through life thinking that they are not worth anyone's effort, and that nothing they could make is worth giving. And the same people are go through life surrounded by junk made by soulless machines. Make a change - make something for Christmas.