Christmas is a red-letter day of rejoicing and gifting the world over. A profoundly symbolic celebration that binds family, friends and strangers together in mysterious ties of love, hope, faith and charity. A deeply serious yet exuberant occasion, the complexities of gift at Christmas can be completely removed if you follow your heart.

Gifts at Christmas are fast becoming mass produced duplicates that show no personality or ingenuity on the part of the giver. To break free from the repetitive shopping pattern, nurture a new creation, a new thought, a new idea however impossible or far fetched. The best Christmas gifts are born from them-personalized gifting inspired by the best of human emotion and feeling.

Start early and plan through the year. Construct an only-for-Christmas list. Jot down all the people who have touched your life and whom you would like to extend tidings of joy. Record their personalities with a few key words. Follow up with an inventory of what best represents those qualities. Then decide what/how you can create, buy, hire, share or enshrine. Go for it.

If shared creatively, your gifts can touch more significantly than any gilt-edged offering. And then again if you know that something from that store shelf is what somebody has been waiting and waiting for, buy it. Cakes, cookies, candles, bouquets, books, Bordeaux, watches, walnuts, winter-wear-run through the alphabet and you can find what you want.

The Christmas gift can also include selfless giving-caroling-for-the-needy, church programs, sweets at the local hospital, an seniors' day picnic-at-the-park. Discuss ideas with your kids for gifts for the less fortunate and gift memories of a lifetime.

Peace, brotherhood and harmony-let you Christmas gifting catch the universal spirit. Let them reflect the good cheer, color and magic of mankind's divinity. Merry Christmas.