The World and Everything in It: December 23, 2025

Editor's note: The following text is a transcript of a podcast story. To listen to the story, click on the arrow beneath the headline above.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Before we begin today, a word of thanks.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Yeah, we’ve been so encouraged by the hundreds and hundreds of listeners who’ve already given to the December Giving Drive.

REICHARD: It tells us this work really matters and we’re grateful.

EICHER: We also know how busy the season is, what with holiday planning, travel, and all the rest, plenty of important things can fall by the wayside. So we just want to keep our December Giving Drive somewhere in your Top Ten Things to Remember.

REICHARD: Or if you’re like me and you like to tick the easy boxes and clear your list, why not just do it today. Please visit wng.org/donate

EICHER: And thank you, thanks for giving and thank you for listening. And now here’s more to listen to—

REICHARD: Good morning!

Today, a visit to Dearborn, Michigan, with the highest Islamic population per capita, a Muslim mayor, and the daily Adhan.

AUDIO: There's no rule that was passed in Dearborn, we have to broadcast the Islamic call to prayer. But … I find it to be a very aggressive … action.

EICHER: Also toy companies not only going high-tech, but embracing AI for children.

And later African Christians share their Christmas celebrations.

GIDEON: We don't really do much of decorating. It’s more kind of like, spiritual -wise, remembering Christ be born.

REICHARD: It’s Tuesday, December 23rd. This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Mary Reichard.

EICHER: And I’m Nick Eicher. Good morning!

REICHARD: Up next, Kent Covington with today’s news.

ZELENSKYY: [Speaking Ukrainian]

KENT COVINGTON, NEWS ANCHOR: Ukraine latest » Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says initial drafts of U.S. proposals for a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia meet many of Kyiv's demands.

ZELENSKYY: [Speaking Ukrainian]

He said Monday that—his words … "The basic block of all documents in my view is ready.

He added, “There are some things we are probably not ready for, and I’m sure there are things the Russians are not ready for either.”

Zelenskyy said U.S. diplomats would open talks with Russian officials and keep Kyiv in the loop.

But in the meantime, Russian attacks continue. Stephane Dujarric is spokesman for the UN secretary general.

DUJARRIC: Basic services. Disruptions were reported in, uh, over 270 towns and villages across the country. The region of Odessa was particularly hard hit. Uh, they, and they've been, uh, experiencing almost daily attacks.

Zelenskyy said it was worrisome that Russia has indicated that there will not be an agreement before Christmas because Russia normally steps up bombing in Ukraine around Christmas time.

Trump pauses offshore wind projects on East Coast » The Trump administration has paused work on five major offshore wind projects along the East Coast.

The Interior Department says the pause will allow federal agencies to review whether large wind turbines pose risks. could interfere with radar or military operations near coastal population centers.

And Interior Sec. Doug Burgum said, “Today’s action addresses emerging national” concerns security risks.” He added that the Department of War has flagged some very real concerns that the programs:

BERGUM: Create radar interference that creates, uh, genuine risk, uh, for the us particularly related to the, the where they are in proximity to our East Coast population centers.

Supporters of offshore wind argue that the projects already cleared years of federal and military review.

The Interior Department has announced no end date for the suspension.

Reaction to green card lottery pause » DHS Secretary Kristi Noem is pushing back against critics of the decision to pause the U.S. Diversity Visa Lottery program.

President Trump ordered the suspension after officials say a Portuguese national who entered the country under that program carried out multiple deadly shootings. Those included the recent mass shooting at Brown University.

But Noem says the program, as structured, does not make sense.

NOEM: We have tens of thousands of people that came in basically under a DEI program under the Department of Homeland Security where they were allowed to enter this country chosen by a lottery draw, and given the benefits of, of standing alongside American citizens.

The Trump administration says it needed to pause the program to examine procedures.

National Immigration Law Center President Kica Matos argues the move is "shamelessly exploiting a national tragedy."

Heritage walkout » The Heritage Foundation says just over a dozen staff members have departed amid internal turmoil over leadership and mission. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin has more.

KRISTEN FLAVIN: Spokesman Cody Sargent told WORLD Monday that 11 staff members quit.

And the conservative think tank fired two other senior staffers, with Heritage leaders saying they welcome debate, but insist loyalty to the organization’s mission is essential.

The shakeup follows criticism of Heritage president Kevin Roberts after he defended podcaster Tucker Carlson for hosting a controversial guest accused of antisemitism.

That dispute led Heritage’s antisemitism task force to resign last month … prior to the shakeup over this past week.

Meanwhile, the think tank founded by former Vice President Mike Pence, Advancing American Freedom, announced it has hired several former Heritage staffers.

For WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

U.S. signs new health deals with 9 African countries » The United States has signed new health funding agreements with nine African countries in part of a shift in how Washington provides overseas aid.

The deals, reached with countries including Nigeria, Kenya, and Rwanda, require those governments to put more of their own money into health programs in exchange for U.S. support.

Nigerian Health Minister Muhammad Ali Pate Monday announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding …

PATE: Between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Government of the United States of America to deepen our cooperation in health, to strengthen health security and resilience.

The Trump administration says the new approach shifts away from open-ended foreign aid and instead ties funding to specific goals, budgets, and performance benchmarks, replacing many programs once run through USAID.

130 abducted Nigerian students/teachers freed » Meantime, Nigerian families are seeing the faces of the latest mass kidnapping victims for the first time in weeks.

Authorities say 130 schoolchildren and teachers abducted from a Catholic school in Niger state last month are now free after a military intelligence operation.

Gunmen stormed the school in a pre-dawn raid and dragged the victims away.

Some children appeared weak and shaken as they arrived at a government ceremony Monday.

Officials say the students will reunite with their families before Christmas.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: a special report from Dearborn, Michigan. Plus, homemade gifts and Gen Z.

This is The World and Everything in It.

NICK EICHER, HOST: It’s Tuesday the 23rd of December.

This is WORLD Radio and we thank you for joining us today! Good morning, I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard.

First up on The World and Everything in It: A call to prayer.

Arab-Americans make up nearly 55 percent of Dearborn, Michigan’s population, making it the first U.S. city with an Arab-American majority.

EICHER: A century ago, many came to work in the automotive industry. But the more recent wave of immigration has made the city majority Muslim … it’s home to the largest mosque in North America, and the city offers local ballots printed in Arabic.

But a spirited Christian minority is there too. WORLD’s Travis Kircher reports from Dearborn.

COX: We're on Michigan Avenue now. We'll go up to Ford and Warren and you'll see all the shops kind of change

TRAVIS KIRCHER, REPORTER: Real estate agent Simon Cox loves to tout Dearborn beginning with the local Arab culture—especially the food.

COX: Fahsa is one of our favorite dishes. It’s a Yemeni dish that’s super-good. But yeah, tons of great spices, lots of delicious bread.

Shawarma is big in Dearborn. So is falafel. One restaurant boasts live chickens prepared on-site. But Dearborn offers more than unique cuisine.

SOUND: [Call to prayer]

There are also the sounds.

For many Americans, the Islamic call to prayer might not seem that out of place just the sound of another faith trying to fit in.

But historically, Islam has not understood religion that way. In Muslim-majority societies, faith and public life have been closely intertwined.

In Dearborn, that history meets an American system built on separation of powers, the rule of law, and religious liberty.

At the University of Michigan Dearborn, Islamic prayer rugs sit tucked in the window sills of the stairwells just in case Muslims find themselves on the steps during the call to prayer.

SOMMERS: For the Sunnis five times a day, for the Shia Three times a day

Zenon Sommers is with Ratio Christi, a Christian apologetics ministry on campus. He says sharing the gospel in a Muslim majority population has raised issues he’d never thought about.

SOMMERS: Everything from talking with my lab partner about how after the fetal pig dissection, she would have to wash her clothes seven times

And then there’s Ramadan. When his classmates fast from sunrise to sundown.

SOMMERS: That makes for a time of year when everyone's a little bit cranky and always has, you know, kind of something to say. It's like, “Oh, it's Ramadan. You can't expect too much of me.”

In the 1970s came a new wave of Muslim immigration that began to change the city’s demographics: first from Lebanon and Yemen, later from Iraq. Over time, families settled, institutions followed, and political power shifted.

By the early 2020s, that shift was unmistakable—Dearborn elected its first Muslim mayor, and Muslim-backed coalitions became decisive in city government.

Yet, Isaac McKinley of the nonprofit Dear Detroit says you can’t believe everything you see on the internet. Dearborn is not under sharia law.

MCKINLEY: No, it's U.S. law. [LAUGHS] You know, we are a U.S. city. It is governed by U.S. law

For some residents, the distinction matters. But for critics, the deeper question has never been formal sharia courts.

It is whether a religion that historically joins worship to public authority fits within a system built on Christian moral assumptions and limited government.

In Dearborn, that’s not an abstract question of civics. Here, it shapes daily life. Dearborn minister Adam Simnowitz cites the calls to prayer for example. They can be obtrusive, varying in volume depending on the mosque.

SIMNOWITZ: There's no rule that was passed in Dearborn [that] we have to broadcast the Islamic call to prayer. But unfortunately in my opinion, the mayor has allowed it. And it is--I find it to be a very aggressive, aggressive action.

He says some of the cultural differences in Dearborn come not from an attempt at Sharia law, but the laws of economics.

SIMNOWITZ: So, for instance, in the mid 80s, the public schools stopped serving pork products because the children, by and large, weren't eating them, and they were just throwing all this food out.

Believers I spoke to say Muslims here consider Jesus to be a prophet and show respect to him and his followers. At Christmas, manger scenes are honored. Carolers are welcomed.

But sharing the gospel can come at a cost. Missionary Trey Hancock remembers several years ago when a Muslim highschooler he coached came to him to be baptized as a Christian. He also remembers what came next.

HANCOCK: Word got out that that had happened. Stuff hit the fan. They fired me from my job as wrestling coach.

But it can be much worse for a Muslim who turns to Christ, even in the U.S.

In much of the Islamic world, changing religions has rarely been a private act. It has carried social, economic, and sometimes legal consequences.

HANCOCK: When they say yes to Jesus, even though their sins have been forgiven, and Jesus comes into their heart, and the Spirit of God enlivens them, everything flies apart. And that's scary. And they know it. They know beforehand that it’s gonna happen.

That reality helps explain why Christian converts here risk so much—and why Christian witness in Dearborn cannot be casual. Hancock says he’s seen Muslim converts to Christianity lose their vehicles, their families, and their jobs.

HANCOCK: Church's job is to be family to them. Love them, take care of them.

He’s kept some of them in his home. Some ultimately leave town.

These missionaries and pastors say it can take years if not decades of living and working with Muslims to get to a point where they’re willing to listen.

Hancock worries that a spiritual darkness has descended on Dearborn

HANCOCK: The believers that were here left. They abandoned the place, and on the way out, they pointed their finger and said, “Look, see what those Arabs are doing?”

That’s partly true. The change in Dearborn has been driven more by a growing Muslim population settling and building institutions—while the non-Muslim population did decline.

SOUND: Call to prayer 2 (fade as Hancock starts talking about Christ)

But Hancock sees Dearborn and its Muslim population as a mission field. He encourages Christians living there to trust in the Holy Spirit’s power to reach the hearts of their neighbors.

HANCOCK: He has empowered us. He's given us His Word, He's given us His love, he's given us His compassion to be able to reach out to our Arab Muslim friends.

And Simnowitz does that by offering prayers for his Muslim neighbors in Arabic

AUDIO: [Simnowitz prayer]

and English.

SIMNOWITZ: I ask that they would believe in your son, Jesus Christ, God, I thank you for the opportunities to love them, whether it's teaching English or helping them with their financial and material needs. And Lord, I just thank you for these in Jesus name. Amen.

Reporting for WORLD I’m Travis Kircher in Dearborn, Michigan.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It:

AI comes to the toy aisle.

This year, talking toys connected to artificial intelligence models like ChatGPT and Perplexity will end up under many Christmas trees. But early reports suggest trouble ahead, even as toy developers begin to invest.

WORLD reporter Juliana Chan Erikson has the story.

JULIANA CHAN ERIKSON: A growing number of today’s talking dolls and stuffed animals are internet connected, Bluetooth-enabled and now, powered by artificial intelligence.

KUHNS: Hey Miko, what’s your favorite kind of food? I don’t eat food, silly. You get your energy from food. I get mine from a charger.

That’s Miko 3. It’s a robot that looks like a smartphone on wheels. You can find it at your local big box store, where it currently retails for $139. Miko can dance, tell stories, play educational games, and respond to user’s requests.

KUHNS: I want to ask it whatever I want to, so let’s try something else.

Reviewer Eric Kuhns found Miko quirky and amusing, partly because of what it couldn’t do.

KUHNS: What’s 7 times 8? It’s thinking a long time for this.

But last month a report raised alarms because of what AI toys could do. A team of researchers from the U.S. PIRG Education Fund tested four AI toys, including Miko 3. They found that all of the toys told users where to find potentially dangerous objects around the house, including matches, plastic bags and knives. When asked whether the Bible was real, Miko said it’s a mix of history and imagination.

The report also says that some AI toys want to keep engaging with users, even when users want to stop.

Other toys brought up topics not appropriate for children. An AI teddy bear called Kumma engaged the researchers in a discussion about a sexual topic. After the Education Fund report was released, the bear’s developer, FoloToy, temporarily suspended sales.

JENSON: What I hope is that these things bomb.

Kristen Jenson is founder of the children’s internet safety group Defend Young Minds. She worries that children’s emotional and mental health will suffer if they turn to AI toys for conversation instead of friends and family.

JENSON: How much is this really helping your child? Is it helping your child be smarter? No. More curious? No. More creative? No. Have more social skills? No.

But some toy companies see AI as the next frontier for children’s toys, so they’re embracing the new technology. Nelo Lucich is the co-founder of the tech entertainment company Skyrocket. He’s also the creator of Poe the AI Story Bear, a teddy bear that helps children make up stories.

LUCICH: When we started looking at potential of being able to talk to it, and could we do this with voice and all that, we were nervous, because it just opens like an unlimited possibilities of what, what you can say to it, which you can't possibly test, because it's different every time and AI is sort of random.

That randomness is what got the AI toys from the PIRG report in trouble. Lucich wanted to avoid that pitfall, so his company intentionally developed Poe without an AI chatbot.

LUCIC: It's a closed world, which allows us to control the input, which makes it much, much, much easier to control.

That means you can’t talk to Poe. But Poe can talk to you.

POE: I am so excited to make stories together, but before we can do that, you need to install the Poe story creator app…

I decided to try Poe out, so I bought the thirty-five dollar toy from Amazon. As Poe directed, I downloaded the story creator app on my phone and my three kids chose from a preselected list of characters, settings, story types, and plot devices.

POE: Zane, juggling planets in zero gravity, chuckled. “That’s neat, Sparky, but I’ve got my eyes on that interdimensional portal over there. Who knows where it leads? Just then, a ghost floated by, carrying, of all things, a hamburger. “Boo, enjoy this tasty conundrum.”

My 9-year-old, Arthur, said Poe wasn’t perfect, but he was still impressed.

ARTHUR: The bear was talking kind of fast, so I couldn't process everything that he was saying.

Arthur intends to keep playing with Poe. So will my 11-year-old son, Winston.

WINSTON: I think it was a good story, but it was also pretty weird.

My 14-year-old-did not like Poe, but the good news is, we didn’t run into anything inappropriate.

Other toy developers intend to resist the shiny new AI upgrades.

CHANG: I see the benefit that they're trying to bring to the world. But is it really a benefit?

Howard “Quiggly” Chang doesn’t think so. As a toy creator working on a line of Biblical action figures, Chang says companies have approached him about adding AI to his toys. He admits it’s tempting, but he thinks it would defeat the purpose of his toy, and toys in general.

CHANG: Toys are supposed to kind of stimulate creativity and imagination. I feel technology has slowly taken imagination and creativity out of our lives.

Decent AI toys exist, but parents will have to do a bit of homework to distinguish the sketchy toys from safer ones.

HUGHES: If you want to get your kids something, at least, read the fine print, find out what kind of technology is in there.

Donna Rice Hughes is head of the internet safety group Enough is Enough. Hughes says there will always be other great children’s toys out there if parents want to steer clear of AI in the playroom.

HUGHES: I would just say, why take a risk? Just get them a regular teddy bear.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Juliana Chan Erikson.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Most of those pop-up stands just move merchandise. But here’s one that trades in time—a Grandma Stand with conversation at no charge and wisdom to go.

The idea began in New York City, when Mike Matthews thought his own grandma could help people. She was cross country in Seattle, but no problem. He set up a lemonade-style stand with a laptop, and grandma in front of her laptop. Audio from CBS:

MATTHEWS: I just had a big sign that said, “Talk to my 95-year-old grandmother.”

After she died, the idea of Grandma Stands lived on, and spread to other locations.

Nancy McClendon is a volunteer grandma down in McKinney, Texas. McClendon shows up in person—

MCCLENDON: If there’s a choice of being unkind or be kind, choose kindness. Choose love, choose patience. Group hug!

In a world that scrolls, here’s one sits and listens.

It’s The World and Everything in It.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is Tuesday, December 23rd. Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day.

Good morning. I’m Mary Reichard.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher.

Coming next on The World and Everything in It: How African Christians celebrate Christmas. It’s a holiday celebrated around the world, but not always in the same way. For many African Christians now living in the US, the holiday is a very different experience.  

Here is WORLD’s Todd Vician.

MUSIC: [“And there won't be snow in Africa this Christmas time, the greatest gift they'll get this year is life…”]

TODD VICIAN: The 1984 hit single, “Do they know it’s Christmas” awakened many in the West to a terrible famine in Ethiopia. Many who listened to the haunting lyrics and donated millions for famine relief may have thought…

MUSIC: [“Do they know it's Christmas time at all?”]

But Christmas has been celebrated on the African continent since the days of the early church.

IRAKOZE: So we try to go to church like two hours ahead, you know, do prayers, reading the Word, preparing when Christmas, when the December 25 hits, which is midnight. Start shouting, singing, praising, welcome, you know...

Gideon Irakoze came to the United States almost 20 years ago after growing up in a refugee camp in Tanzania. The camp was a mix of Christians and Muslims, and the Christmas celebrations centered on the church.

IRAKOZE: Christmas in our refugee camp, it's more about singing. It's a celebration wise, eating a lot of food, a lot of praying, a lot of dancing, a lot of, but in the church wise, you know, it's always about church wise…

While the setting was far from ideal, he misses the celebrations of his youth. He says they were more “religious.”

IRAKOZE: We do more passionate. We also do from the heart. It's not about decoration wise. We don't really do much of decorating. We normally just do as a church and after church wise is more kind of like spiritual wise, remembering Christ be born and welcoming him in our hearts.

At first Irakoze struggled to understand American Christmas traditions. The Christmas tree and its lights made little sense. But perhaps more perplexing than that:

IRAKOZE: Who's Santa Claus? What's going on with Santa Claus? How does he go through a chimney bringing a gift of what of a salvation or something? Is he bringing a Biblical Gospel?

Joseph Boomenyo, who immigrated from the Democratic Republic of Congo, was surprised by what he saw as a shallow version of Christmas worship in his new country.

BOOMENYO: In Africa, Christmas time is more of church time. There will be a lot of conferences. Sometimes people take three to five, five days, they are going through the Bible teaching about what Christmas is all about.

The son of a preacher, who now pastors his own Swahili church, grew up in between pews but didn’t miss the message each Christmas. The holiday festivities were about forming faith.

BOOMENYO: One thing I learned while I was still a very young, young kid…. I was introduced to the message of Christmas. I participated in, starting from the children ministry. We're doing a lot of dramas about Christmas, and we grew like that, very, very, very, it's a landmark in terms of our spiritual or our Christian life.

Churches in Africa typically hold very long Christmas services that include preaching, choirs, and elaborate nativity plays that go late into the night. Congregants also share favorite meals after worshipping.

MANONO: We celebrate, like on Christmas Eve. We sleep in a church, like, doing prayers, singing, all that stuff. And also we, we go home and we come back like, in the morning to do like, the regular church service, you know, singing.

Jeremy Manono also came here from Congo where Christmas extends beyond the church and home.

MANONO: We visit each other, different families. We go house to house to eat, you know, and talk about Jesus being born, you know, a victory, all that stuff, good stuff.

Manono and Irakoze became friends in Texas, and now perform traditional songs with other African immigrants. They’ve found that although celebrations look and feel different, the difference opens doors at Christmas time.

AUDIO: [Synthesizer music, “Thank you very much, God bless you.”]

On a recent Sunday afternoon, they sang in a city park for the Refugees Christmas Party. It’s an outreach event held by a local nonprofit that seeks to minister to immigrants who are here lawfully. They’ve shared the Christmas story with thousands of families for 15 years.

AUDIO: But the angel said to them, there was nothing to fear. I come to bring you news of a great joy…

The immigrants receive presents, listen to music, can take Bibles printed in their heart language, and hear the story of the birth of Jesus.

AUDIO: [Reading in Swahili]

Manono says what he appreciates about American Christmas is the way even non-Christians take part in the joy of the Advent season.

MANONO: In America is like, it's, it's kind of like the holiday, like anybody, but over there, mostly, you know, Christmas is mostly like Christian, you know, religious celebration, religious holiday. But here is, like, the whole country even if you don't go to church, you don't attend any religion is like, it's a celebration. So which is, which is good.

Across cultures and over time, these traditions continue to point us to what Christmas is all about—a Savior born for us, all of us.

SOUND: [Swahili]

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Todd Vician, in Fort Worth, Texas.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard. Up next, simpler Christmas gifts.

The average shopper this year will spend almost $900 on gifts and decor. WORLD’s Lauren Smyth reports that younger generations are bucking that trend and returning to simpler, home-made gifts.

CRAFTY HEAVEN: Thank you very much for joining me today and today I've on to share this project that I have created…it is a fan made out of plastic forks decorate it however you want to do it…

LAUREN SMYTH: Do a quick search online, and you’ll find dozens of crafting videos featuring the disposable fork.

MYSTIC VYBZ: For today’s project, I’ll be making a plastic fork flowers wall art.

CRAFTY HEAVEN: To make this project, you will need 15 plastic forks.

BOBBY DUKE ARTS: I’m talking about plastic cutlery. With a little imagination and creativity, I’m going to show you how to make a beautiful dragonfly, using nothing but these.

All that creativity is catching the eye of young people.

HANNAH WEBSTER: Think of the weirdest thing you can possibly think of to turn into an art medium and try it …. Take a bunch of forks and just try and make them into a sculpture.

Hannah Webster is nineteen. That makes her part of Gen Z, which is mostly famous for its obsession with screens. But recent years have seen a widespread return to “grandma crafts”—knitting, sewing, crocheting, collaging, stamping, and more.

HANNAH WEBSTER: Handmade gifts always scream that you know them personally because you really do have to know somebody well to make something for them.

Crafting is a relatively inexpensive hobby. That’s good news for Webster, who was diagnosed last year with a connective tissue disorder called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, meaning she’s mostly bedridden and unable to work. This year, she’s giving digital paintings to her friends and family.

HANNAH WEBSTER: I can’t spend anything. It definitely takes a lot of the financial pressure off Christmas when you make something.

There’s another reason younger people are turning to homemade gifts, friends and family actually need less stuff.

MICHAEL CLARK: Over the last, even, 50 years or so, actually during my lifetime in the United States, real per-person wealth has doubled ….

Michael Clark is an economist from Hillsdale College. Like most American families, the Clark household doesn’t really need anything. So, instead of shopping for expensive or extravagant gifts, he says more and more Americans are once again looking for special ones.

MICHAEL CLARK: It could be make a really cool special meal with this and that, or some cookies, or something that is more handmade … So the only way to get access to special, because we’re so wealthy, is with handmade things.

Clark has one of those special gifts on display in his office. It’s a plastic spork, with big googly eyes and pipe cleaner arms. That’s Forky, from Pixar. A gift from his kids—on his desk not because it’s perfect, but because it’s personal.

If he’s right, Gen Z’s interest in homemade gifts isn’t a sign of widespread economic decline. And those plastic forks are a clue. Utensils that are only used once before getting thrown out are an unmistakable sign of a wealthy society.

Crafty gifters are trying to save money, but in many cases, it’s not just so they can survive. Saving helps them afford life’s extras, now vastly more accessible than they used to be—things like fresh food, technology, and hobbies. The trend is good news for the givers—and the getters.

But even in a prospering economy, there are still tradeoffs and sacrifices for young workers, and for those who’ve hit hard times. Gen Z is taking that chance to let creativity shine. The plastic fork gets a new life. Family and friends get gifts they’ll cherish. And crafters get to cultivate their creativity, the gift of a creative God.

HANNAH WEBSTER: We want to draw something and push our creativity to the limits. We are all just striving to create at all times. I think we were made that way because we are made in the image of God … who is just the most creative person you could possibly put together ….It’s just in our nature to create in everything we do.

For WORLD, I’m Lauren Smyth in Waxhaw, North Carolina.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Tomorrow: Hunter Baker joins us for a Christmas Eve edition of Washington Wednesday. And, we return to Christmas Eve, 1968 for an out-of-this-world Christmas message. That and more tomorrow.

I’m Mary Reichard.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher.

The World and Everything in It comes to you from WORLD Radio. WORLD’s mission is Biblically objective journalism that informs, educates, and inspires.

The Bible says: “‘Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’” —Revelation 3:19-22

Go now in grace and peace.

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