What is the Christmas Spirit, Anyway?

4 days until Christmas.  Nope, hasn't hit me.  Honestly, it might miss me altogether this year.  I am at the point where I'm wondering what the Christmas spirit really is, since I apparently don't feel Christmassy until I wrap presents.  And this year, I will be doing very little present wrapping because of our budget.  Not that we can't afford presents, we just can't afford to spend $500 on presents for family I see maybe once a year, and am not going to get to see this year at all.  Instead, I've opted to make cool (ok, VERY cool) snacks and foods and freeze them until I can send a courier to deliver plates/baskets of goodies.  Sounds great!  It just doesn't involve much wrapping, and even less gifting, especially since it will be the weekend after New Year's Day when my mom can visit to be that courier.

Good news: I have a whole 2 more weeks to bake/arrange goodies to give.
Bad news: Christmas isn't going to be anywhere near Christmas Day.

So, here's the delivery schedule as it stands so far:
Husband's family: Christmas Eve or Christmas Day
My family: January 7th-ish
Church people: Whenever we see them at church/New Year's LAN party

Here's the baked/made goods list so far:
All-Natural Vanilla Almond Biscotti dipped in chocolate and sprinkled with organic coconut
Chocolate-covered salted caramel shortbread squares

Here's the list of other things I plan to make:
Chocolate-covered pretzels (can't get enough) and pretzel sticks
Cheesecake-stuffed strawberries
Brie-stuffed spinach puffs (a la Kronk)

Honestly, though, complaining about lack of wrapping-paper highs is not where I intend to be.  I actually think I'm still in the Thanksgiving Spirit and am going to get my Christmas on after New Year's.  I'm insanely thankful for the gift of Christ's life, death, and resurrection.  The less stuff we have cluttering our lives, the more thankful I am for God's simple gifts.  I'm thankful for gifts of family and friends, especially for my husband's little brother who is visiting us for the week and my college roommate and her husband, who will also be visiting.  Their company is an incalculable gift.

Do I need more stuff when I have such wonderful gifts to rejoice over?  I think not.

Merry Christmas.