If you've been alive in America longer than five minutes, you've seen the ads: There are some things money can't buy. For everything else, there's MasterCard. Welcome to Consumerism, the get-all-you-can-as-fast-as-you-can-cause-you-deserve-it-by-golly ideology to which the modern world clings for dear life....or rather, mere pleasure.

We're born with a desire to possess. Untold millions work hard to get more than they have, amass fortunes, travel and dine in luxury, and play. Is ownership wrong? Certainly not. But people don't rest until they own as much as possible, betraying the true desires of their heart and showing everyone what they value most highly.

People have always fought their own greed and shown others they care by gift-giving. Gifts are easy to mistake for a consumerist ritual, reducing friendship and family bonds to objects or money. The truth is far less bleak—presents are physical representations of our spiritual attitudes toward others.

This is one reason we need to be careful what we give, and to whom. Bringing flowers home to your wife or buying your husband season tickets to the Mariners are thoughtful gifts that show you care, but giving dear sweet grandma a Metallica CD or your teapot-pouring daughter a subscription to Guns & Ammo only shows you were thinking about yourself and not them.

Jesus put it plainly: "[W]hich one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will you Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!" (Matthew 7:9-11).

Gift-giving should be an occasion for joy, both for the recipient and the giver. Not only is finding the right thing for the right person fun, letting them know you understand and care for them can only strengthen your relationship. The supreme example of this, of course, is God's willingness to send His son to death on our behalf.

Two pitfalls are easy to fall into, however, and both are equally dangerous. One tends toward lavish bestowment, trying to show love through many expensive presents ("Look at this Corvette I bought you! And these pearls! And! And!"). This is really only a ruse to cover the fact that the giver doesn't know the receiver; if they did, they'd simply give an appropriate gift, no matter how small or inexpensive it might be.

The other pitfall is a little more subtle. Most of us have used the phrase "it's the thought that counts" whether in jest or seriousness at some time in our lives, and every time it's to our shame. What if Christ had used that rhetoric? What if the redemption of sinners was only done partway, with the excuse that "at least Jesus' heart was in it"? The whole point of salvation is that it's a complete and effectual gift.

No gift any of us can give is remotely comparable to the one Christ gave. And yet, each one given in joy and with genuine love is a shadow or a reflection of that ultimate gift, and we take the giving of presents lightly to our own peril. Gifts are symbolic, and as much fun as they can be, we mustn't lose sight of the reason behind them. We also need to remind ourselves that Christians are called to imitate Christ in giving whether or not they receive anything in return.

Those of us at Exodus Books enjoy gifts as much as anyone. While we believe any good book makes a great gift, we've gone out of our way to bring in games, CDs, toys, activity books, coloring books, paper dolls, etc. for you to choose from. Not everyone wants to unwrap a book, and as sad as that makes us we're willing to accommodate. These aren't educational CDs and games we're talking about, either: they serve little purpose other than being fun.

Obviously, we're careful to carry products that promote virtue (Sons of Korah, an Australian folk-rock band that sings the Psalms, are among our favorite musicians), but that doesn't mean they're all staid and boring. Our Melissa & Doug toys for younger kids, and games for families and older children, are meant to promote nothing so much as imagination and person-to-person interaction and bonding.

We don't offer power tools or shotguns (yet), but we're pretty sure you can find something for everyone on your list here. Don't stress too much about finding the right thing; enjoy thinking about whoever you're giving it to, reflecting on their interests and likes, and choosing accordingly. A good gift given humbly and with joy will almost certainly be received with love and thanksgiving.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.