Sometimes we look at the past and forgetting the way in which things were manufactured, or how rare certain materials might have been or even expensive, we raise a smile at what people thought important enough to give as presents. Some of the traditions (the father buying the house for the newly wedded couple) have disappeared except for the rich though they always were for the rich.
What would count as a special present today? A car for an eighteen year old? A computer for a ten year old? A diamond ring for a girlfriend? And what would we think a happy present that doesn’t cost so much but means a lot? A voucher for this-or-that? Are books disappearing as presents?
I wonder only because when I bought my friend’s two year old a present for Christmas all I found in the mainstream shops were made of plastic. Everything. The boxes were very colourful but most of the time the plastic bits were just thrown into the box with no wrapping, no additions, nothing. In the past everything was hand made yet today apart from a few students making little trinkets to help them through college, hand made items are expensive, even the smallest.
Because we have forgotten it isn’t the present itself that means anything, it is the time taken to make it that shows your respect, love and attention. Because we think money is the only value we forget to value our hands.