The Gift of the Magi

In assembly today we spoke about how difficult it is to buy the perfect gift. How do you manage to chose a present that will really show a person how much they mean to you? Is it how much the gift is worth? Is it how difficult the gift was to obtain? Is it how much thought you put into the gift? Is it a special meaning that the gift might have? Is it better if the gift is something you have made?

Orginally the notion of Christmas gifts came from the Three Wise Men. They had thought carefully about their presents and each one had a special meaning:

• Gold showed that Jesus was to be a special King
• Frankicense showed that Jesus was going to be a Holy child
• Myrrh represented death (it was an embalming oil)

Unfortunately, in our story today, the two people got a bit carried away with the idea of giving presents. James and Della were so concerned about the gifts they were going to buy each other, that they forgot the most special thing of all - they cared for each other! Della shaved off her beautiful hair to buy a watch chain, while James sold his watch to buy his wife some combs!

Sadly I know of two other foolish people - Bert & Ernie. Watch their version of the Gift of the Magi to see how they reacted when their present buying went wrong. Remember, you don't have to buy someone a gift for them to know how special they are to you. The best gift of all would be to tell them how much you care about them and to thank them for all they do... something that can be done with a card.