Keeping Christ in the center of Christmas
Keeping Christ in the center of Christmas
Working at a Christian Bookstore for many years taught me a lot of things about gift giving. We had a diehard customer base that would "always" turn to our products for gifts during Christmas and all year round. Continuously, we would have a customer say; "I have a friend who.." Friend, relative, co-worker, neighbor, you name, these customers were always in tune to the situations their friends were struggling with or challenged by. The great part was that they always knew they could find a product to help that situation in a Christian Bookstore. Whether it was a book, Bible, CD, inspirational card, figurine, DVD or a host of other things, they knew the item they finally selected would provide comfort.
At Christmas time, we saw a shift in the purpose of the gifts, many now were looking for items that were just plain inspiring. Not necessarily dealing with an urgent situation, but rather something that would instill a Christian theme in the recipient's life. I always had the believe that if you are going to buy someone a gift, why not have it be an inspirational gift because you just add an element of inspiration that might not be present otherwise in a common secular gift. For instance, if you buy someone a picture for a house warming gift, why not a picture with an inspirational verse. You accomplish the same purpose but add not only an inspiring element, but a statement to the recipient's guests that they are Christian. If a book, whether it be fiction or nonfiction, why not a Christian book? A music CD, the same thing, there are Christian groups for just about every music genre and style, with the difference being that the lyrics are meant to inspire, heal and encourage.
At the bookstore, we always heard about statistics like only 5% of Christian ever shop at a Christian Bookstore, or something very low like that and I know it always frustrated the owners because it was hard to make a profit in that business. Years have gone by and I now realize it must have been terribly frustrating knowing 9 out of 10 people from the local church you attend, are spending money of gifts such as the items mentioned above, but going to non Christian stores. I don't know what the percentages are now, but I have to believe that with the rise of the internet, and with the, the increase in the convenience of buying gifts, more people are buying Christian gifts, especially at Christmas time. In looking around the internet and doing some searching, I found a website that appears to focus exactly what this article is about. The website, www.christianchristmas.net takes each category of a typical Christian Bookstore, Books, Bibles, Music, Movies, Gifts, Cards, Kids, etc. and categorizes the best selling, most popular and discounted Christmas themed items for each category. Bravo! Talk about a convenient way to shop for Christmas with a Christian theme? I am sure there are other websites, (probably hundreds) that highlight top gift items by Christian category, I just could not find any in my google searches that were themed this was, focusing on Christian Christmas gifts.
We have found (and written about) how sales at brick and mortar Christian Bookstores have been and continue to decline. After reviewing this website, the selection, the prices, etc., it is easy to see why shoppers are trading in the time, cost and expense to go to a Christian Bookstore, sometimes only to find out of stocks, to shop online and save all of the above in addition to sales tax some of the time. As Christmas approaches and time constraints weigh more heavily, I believe it is websites like www.christianchristmas.net that will benefit from holiday sales, but more importantly, it is the recipients of those Christian themed gifts who may of otherwise not received one that will truly benefit! Christmas Presents For Special One Time Sensitive - Here Is How You Can Make $1000 Or More Before Christmas What it is advisable to do before you go round Australia university hopping Discover Holidays in Amsterdam African Dance Las Vegas Now a Mecca for the Biggest Loser Hotels In Rishikesh For Chardham Destination Now a Weight Loss Fitness Retreat Destination Las Vegas Attracts the Biggest Loser Your discount Christmas shopping from MPB Today? Here is how that works Importance Of Gutter Cleaning- Springfield (nj) Malaysia Tour A Delightful Experince Of Lifetime Custom Christmas Holiday Cards Shopping Ideas For Your Boys Christmas Gifts