What is the best Christmas gift to give to non-christians

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   tandaaposted 12 years ago

   Does anyone know any person; a friend, neighbor, sibling, acquaintance, work mate e.t.c who is not a Christian? In the light of the Christmas mood and spirit, what gift do you think is best to share with such a person?

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      wildernessposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Anything that is not a religious icon or other item.
      
      No crosses, no bibles, no Jesus statues, etc.  Anything else is fine.
      
      Or, if the friend is, say, Jewish, you might pick an icon from their religion.  A menorah, perhaps?

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         Motown2Chitownposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Excellent answer.  Food is always good.  Stay away from decorating with a Christian theme. 
         
         Find out what types of things move the specific person you're gifting.  If they are an advocate for a cause, contribute to that cause. 
         
         Think of how you might gift that individual on their birthday and run with that.
         
         

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         tandaaposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         @wilderness, i think you are right, anything with no religious affiliation might be good

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      psycheskinnerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I am not sure why their religious status should matter.  Just don't give them a Bible.  The usual: food, clothing, gift cards, stuff for their hobbies etc.

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      Mark Knowlesposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Money is always welcome.

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         tandaaposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         @ Mark, money, who will say NO to money?

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   4. 95

      Cardisaposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      If they are not Christians they might be offended if you give them a gift. I know people who are not Christians and they do not want to be included in the gift giving because they don't believe in such things.
      
      I guess what I am tying to say is that non Christians are non Christians because they don't believe in Christ and so would not believe in Christmas.

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         wildernessposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Sorry, you can't much further off base, Cardisa.  You will find as many if not more Christians that refuse to celebrate Christmas (a heathen holiday) as you will find non-christians.
         
         Christmas is not just about Christ, and has in fact become more of a secular celebration than religious.

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            paradigmsearchposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            I agree. The gift has nothing to do with religion. It has soley to do with the relationship between the giver and the receiver.

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               Cardisaposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               My fiance would then ask: Why then give the gift on Christmas and not in June or why give a gift during the season at all? I guess I am playing devil's advocate here. It's like someone who does no celebrate valentine's day, I would not expect them to give me a gift and I certainly would not give them one. My fiance tells me each year that he does not want a VD gift nor should I expect to receive one ether.

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                  DzyMsLizzyposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                  I don't know many who would want a 'VD' gift....    (sorry...smarta$$ gene kicking in....)

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                  psycheskinnerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                  And the answer is that the 'Christmas' season is a gift giving and feasting time in our culture and has been since long before Jesus.  It is not an occasion owned exclusively by Christians despite a pretty successful attempt to "steal" it. (In fact you could argue Christians are the ones who shouldn't celebrate it given the Biblical condemnation of things like Christmas trees).

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                     Cardisaposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                     You are right. I think what Christians have tried to do is make Christmas more about Christ as an excuse to celebrate it, when once the themselves condemned it. I think it's hypocrisy on the Christian's part.

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            Cardisaposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            I guess my culture makes the meaning different Wilderness. I find that it is the non believer in Christ that do not wish to be associated with the holiday. So I suppose our beliefs may be dependent on the culture we live in. I do however know that  Adventist and Jehovah's witnesses do not celebrate the holiday.

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               wildernessposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               Absolutely, culture makes an enormous difference. 
               
               A very strong Christian culture would likely find other religions (or no religion) unwilling to join the celebration, while a less Christian culture may well have Christians deciding that the holiday isn't theirs after all and back away from it.
               
               The US is becoming more secular all the time, and when non-believers celebrate anyway some Christians seem to take the attitude that it has become wrong somehow as a result of that.

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                  Cardisaposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                  That's because Christmas has somewhat lost a little of what it is supposed to mean and becoming more commercialized. When we can go back to the real meaning of Christmas than it would not really matte whether you are Christian or not.

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                     wildernessposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                     Well, maybe.  A case could be made that Christmas was originally about the birth of the god Mithra, which might upset Christians a bit.
                     
                     I understand you though - Christmas is about what the individual person wants it to be about, and that's mostly love and giving wherever it is celebrated.  Available to all

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      Greekgeekposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Honestly, the gift- giving part of Christmas stems from northern European Yule traditions anyway, so it has nothing particularly to do with Jesus and the Christian side of Christmas.
      
      So this is a bit of a strange question. The giving of gifts is a lovely tradition, just like mother's day, and you can tie it into your own religion if that holds meaning for you, but that part isn't necessarily Christian.  I would wager that at this point, there are more non-Christians around the world who have adopted the gift-giving part of the holiday than there are Christisns, because it's a nice idea when not overly commercialized.
      
      (To rebut you, all my pagan friends give gifts on the solstice -- a  bit of a nuisance since it's a few days early -- my atheist friend has a tree and presents, and my Jewish family always had a tree, presents, and unwrapped presents on Christmas -- and we said, "merry Christmas." So for that matter does the atheist. People who know something about different world religions and the meanings behind the symbols and cultural rituals are not so threatened by variations as followers of One True Way type religions.)

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      ritsukakunxposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Unless you only give religious gifts, wouldn't you get an athiest, or any non-Christian, anything you'd give to a Christian? Athiests are humans, too, even if you don't want to believe it. :p

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      A Troubled Manposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      The Quran.

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         Michele Travisposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Written in which language

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            A Troubled Manposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            In Arabic, and then next Christmas, give them the Rosetta Stone.

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               Motown2Chitownposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               
               
               That's rotten.
               
               Funny, though.

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               wildernessposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               

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               Healthyannieposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               The Rosetta Stone helps to translate the ancient Egyptian written language of hieroglyphics to Greek not Arabic.

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   ESPeck1919posted 12 years ago

   Not being Christian myself, I just appreciate a well thought out, considerate gift. Just concentrate on what the person likes instead of their religion.
   
   "Happy Holidays" is a good phrase, too, because it includes all potential holidays instead of just the better known ones.

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      Michele Travisposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I am a Christian, but I still give the kids toys.  Even if the Parents are Christian or not.  My friends, well I just ask them what they might like, instead of giving them something they don't want.  Takes the surprise away, but at least they don't have to return it.

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         ESPeck1919posted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Yes, exactly!
         
         Kids always love toys. So do some adults, too, but I think we all knew that one already.
         
         It really is just a matter of what others might like depending on personality, etc.

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   myorganizedlifeposted 12 years ago

   Make a charitable donation in their name with the sentiment "In the spirit of the season, a donation has been made to (blank organization) in your name. Happy Holidays!
   
   Here are a couple of suggestions:
   
   Sandy Hook School Support Fund through the Western Connecticut United Way
   Hurricane Sandy Relief through the Red Cross
   
   Giving isn't reserved for Christians. It is human nature to give at all times throughout the year.
   
   Good luck!

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      tandaaposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      @myorganizedlife that's a good one. I'll try it and see the effect

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   Rain Defenceposted 12 years ago

   Very strange question. Do Christians only give each other bibles at Christmas or something? I'm not religious but celebrate Christmas. I don't know anyone religious out of all my family, friends and acquaintances and I also don't know anyone who doesn't celebrate Christmas. Give them what you think they'd like as a present, that's the normal thing to do.

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      tandaaposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Interesting answer, it's like this, do you always make a wish, blow candles and cut a cake at your birthday? You celebrate your birthday for a reason and a season or at least everybody remembers their birthday, it's normal and common - not strange. Same case to Christmas, we Christians celebrate it with a meaning and give each other and all our loved ones (Christians or not) gifts - it's all about the remembrance of Christ Jesus whom we firmly believe in and that's why it's <b>Christ</b>mas. I'm happy to hear that even thou you and all the people you know are not religious you anyway celebrate <b>Christ</b>mas

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         Mark Knowlesposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         The season is the Winter Solstice, and the "Christian," aspect seems to get lost in the pagan traditions of gift giving and tree decorating. Did you know that the bible expressly forbids Christmas tree decoration?
         
         The fact that your religion has inserted itself in an age old pagan tradition seems to be lost by you guys. I don't celebrate Christmas as a believer in majik - it is purely cultural for me and many others. We are not joining you in celebration of the birth of anything other than the lengthening of the days. Did you know the Sun God spends 3 days buried at it's lowest altitude on the horizon before rising up and being reborn on the third day? Interesting stuff isn't it?
         
         Did you know that the date changes slightly every year and this is why Easter keeps getting moved around? Did you know that all your "Christian "celebrations are actually Pagan celebrations that were co-opted and there was not an actual Jesus person?
         
         This is an interesting video explaining things more fully.
         
         Happy Holidays!
         
         http://wp.me/p2Jz2C-g4

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   Lesleysherwoodposted 12 years ago

   If they arnt Christian, they probably wont worry if you don't get something at this particular time of year, unless they do celebrate Christmas.  Then I would give like any other person.  I don't celebrate Christmas, so am speaking how I would feel.. Not worried about getting anything really.

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   Healthyannieposted 12 years ago

   Here's some advise if your friend is a Muslim. Don't call it a Christmas present call it a holiday present. You can technically give your friend whatever you like as long it is from the heart.
   They will appreciate the gesture more than the present. Annie

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   aykianinkposted 12 years ago

   Someone already said it, but I still stand by this answer:  Money.

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   LopezUnleashedposted 12 years ago

   I haven't looked at any other reply yet, so I don't know if someone else will disagree.  I am a Christian, so that might not help my answer either.  But I think that any gift is fine if it is a gift with meaning and heart.  If you are giving gifts out of compulsion, it means nothing anyway regardless of the occassion.  Any gift that is geared toward the recipient in my opinion is fine. Don't over think it and you'll be fine, if they have a problem with it, that is on them and not you. Anyone who gets offended by a gift has an issue inside themselves.

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   Gary Holdawayposted 12 years ago

   The bible... I jest. I was under the illusion that anything goes at Christmas? When you think of that person, what do you think they could do with? Often the most thoughtful presents are the cheapest yet most satisfying.

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