The run-up to Christmas can be overwhelming for practically everyone. This includes me!

I want to buy every dress and woolly jumper in sight. I want to attend every local event. I want to indulge myself in the make-up shelves of Boots in St Albans.

All those things I didn't even know I needed till I saw them. Want, want, want.

But it’s meant to be the season of giving! Am I alone in thinking that it’s become the season of quenching our cravings?

It feels like the hum-drum, dizzy season - New Zealanders call Christmas the Silly Season.

But somewhere amidst the anarchy, we have our solid places of worship. They stand calm and welcoming - year after year. Walk into any one of them and feel the silence. Feel the serenity.

Whether it’s a church, a synagogue or a temple, you’ll find a certain peace, a beautiful silence. Take a look at the parishioners’ notice boards to see evidence that this season is after all a time of giving.

Parishioners are like busy-bees organising charity events, visiting the infirm and elderly, arranging Santa visits and Christmas dinners.

Feel the care.

And then take time to listen to a Sunday sermon; you’ll hear God’s voice coming through, gently enticing you to stop, think and give of yourself. As St Francis of Assisi said "it is in giving that we receive."

Somewhere in this giving, we might actually want less as we receive more!