As our family has grown, so has our Christmas list. It’s always been our pattern to spend the same or approximate amount on our children and their spouses. The same pattern is followed for our grands. That’s not always as easy as it seems.

“Big boy” toys often come in smaller packages but larger price tags. One grand might be into sports items like baseballs and basketballs, and an older grand might be into hunting with its more expensive paraphernalia.

That’s when the add-on lists become necessary, and that’s when it starts unraveling. If I add two more items to one grand, another grand appears lacking. One grand’s stack may look like the Grinch did the buying while another younger grand could be heaped with a selection of less expensive items.

Buying early only exacerbates the dilemma. I hide presents from them which often means I hide them from myself. Then when I find the hidden item (if I do), that means my list has been fractured!

I always wait with bated breath on present-opening morning. Will the presents equal out to erase any doubt of partiality, and will I please the recipients with our selections?

Some Christmas mornings have found me rifling through my brain, trying to remember what I wrapped in that odd shaped package or if I located all the hidden items under our bed.

After all the presents are unwrapped, and the grands are smiling and laughing amid knee-high boxes, paper and ribbons, I breathe a sigh of relief and a thank-you to God.

Then it’s my turn to revel in the joy of gifts, knowing that the birth of Jesus is the greatest gift ever conceived for mankind. I was on his list of “Whosoever Will”, and since I responded to his love, he has never been lost or misplaced from my presence. His name is Immanuel! He is of indeterminable value, and I am eternally, joyfully, indescribably well-pleased.

Letters to Camille Anding can be sent to P.O. Box 551, Brookhaven, MS, 39602, or e-mailed to camille@datalane.net.