Religious aunts, of course, know that giving or receiving gifts isn't the real meaning of Christmas. What's the real reason for the season? Why, they'd be delighted to explain. But a loving nephew or niece searches for a perfect gift for their religious aunts anyway. Fortunately, the Inlander has gift suggestions for aunts from every religious tradition. Here are a few to get you started:
PRAYER JOURNALS
Flowers. Cursive. Pictures of sunsets and trees. Bible verses. These are the things that religious aunts are made of. All of these feature prominently on the covers and margins of the large selection of notebooks and prayer journals at LifeWay Christian Store.
Your religious aunt can use the journal to take notes during church services, to copy down thoughts during devotionals, and to write lists of what they need to pray for.
Just be forewarned. Your name will, inevitably, be added to this book. You will be prayed for by your religious aunt, whether it's for you to attend church more, for you meet a nice young man (or woman), or for you to truly understand how much your religious aunt loves you. $15 • LifeWay Christian Store • 9310 N. Division
FOOTSTEPS NEEDLEPOINT KIT
Check in her bathroom, and there's about an 80 percent chance that your religious aunt already has a needlepoint or cross-stitch of the "Footsteps" poem about Jesus carrying you during the roughest times of your life, hanging above her Precious Moments figurines. But don't worry! Even if that's the case, Michael's offers plenty of needlepoint supplies, so she can make a new needlepoint about anything she desires. $6.49 • Michael's • 7630 N. Division
DASHBOARD JESUS
To be clear, buying a Dashboard Jesus only works depending on your religious aunt's views regarding dashboard iconography. (John Calvin, the religious aunt of the 1500s, found graven dashboard images sacrilegious.) If your aunt is more of a spiritual-but-not religious aunt, maybe a Dashboard Monk would the better choice. For your Unitarian Universalist Aunt? Get both! $7 • Boo Radley's • 232 N. Howard
RELIGIOUS CANDLES
Prayer candles, or veladoras, make great stocking stuffers for both religious aunts and abuelas religiosas who want to let their little lights shine. Throw in a few porcelain candle holders decorated with crosses and Bible verses for good measure (they're on the same shelf.) $1 • Dollar Tree • 5605 E. Sprague ♦
