Many years ago, I discovered just how wrong I could be when judging a gift.  It was a gift for one of my children, and I felt it was unnecessary.  To be honest, I didn’t want it cluttering up the house.  At the time, we didn’t have a basement or extra storage.  I remember this item being on the gift list at least three times, which means a birthday, Christmas, and yet another birthday without being purchased.

The item, a snow cone machine, finally made it under the tree two years after the original request.  I had seen a few of the machines in action and was not incredibly impressed with the results.  My adult logic was that there was no room for storing the machine and that it was a waste of money.  We can make crushed ice from the ice machine in our freezer, right?    

After seeing the item on the gift list a fourth time, I realized something very important regarding gift giving.  The gift doesn’t have to be practical, useful, beautiful, or something that you think is worth purchasing if it is someone’s special request.  That was the year I learned not to judge another person’s gift list.    

Almost every time I purchase a gift I think of the snow cone maker.  I think about how many years I judged that gift and how wrong I was about all the possibilities.  

Over the last 10 years, I would guess the snow cone maker has been one of our most used gifts ever.  We do make snow cones, but finely crushed ice is amazing in so many ways!  When someone is sick, we make the crushed ice with ginger ale.  As a study break, we have crushed ice with seltzer or juice.  It has become our Icee maker. 

I’ve learned to apply this gift-giving philosophy to my everyday life.  It is not for me to judge the choices of other people because I don’t know what they have been through or what their future holds.  The snow cone maker that took me two years to purchase taught me a very important life lesson, I am often wrong when I judge.

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy Hanukkah.

Click here to stay connected.