What is your first question when it comes to giving gifts, especially at Christmas?

For most of us, the answer to that question is “How much should we spend?”

I want to suggest a better question. What if you asked, “What would be most meaningful to that person?”

Like many people, I have a job that pays me adequately, and I can buy whatever I desire. The issue of money rarely enters my mind when I receive a gift. My mind runs to the motivation behind that gift. Where was their heart?

Did they give this out of obligation? Did they give me the cheapest gift they thought they could get away with? Alternatively, I might think, “Wow, they really know me,” or “This was so thoughtful.”

Over the years, I have received inexpensive gifts that have meant the world to me, and I have also received pricey ones that have made me sad.

The old expression, “It’s the thought that counts,” is partially true. The thought and the heart behind a gift are the real treasure.