Earlier this year, former Ebay CEO Meg Whitman broke political fundraising records by donating $119 million to her campaign to become California’s governor. Whitman may have spent up to $175 million on her campaign.

She lost the election, proving that although “Buy It Now” works on Ebay, it doesn’t always work in politics.

Is spending this amount of money to get elected to public office crazy?

$175 million can sponsor 42,892 orphans through Children’s HopeChest for 10 years.

We’re about to enter one of my favorite seasons–Christmas. Anyone close to me knows how much I enjoy the holiday season, and really wish I could live inside the pages of a Dickens Christmas story.

But Christmas brings a crazy of its own.

While we might not spend $175 million on Christmas presents for our families, Americans are projected to spend $447 billion this holiday season. (That’s 2,500 Meg Whitman campaigns and 10 years of sponsorship for 109 million orphans at HopeChest).

Is spending this amount of money on Christmas presents crazy?

This Christmas, I want to challenge readers to consider how they can make Christmas more meaningful than just spending statistics.

In a few weeks, I am going to announce a major Christmas campaign to help 5,000 children who need food, water, protection from trafficking, and education in primary schools.

During that campaign, we’re recruiting a team of people who will commit to raise $500 from their friends and family. We’ll give you a Web site and the tools to email all of your contacts. We even help you write the message and integrate with your Facebook.

All you have to do is be willing to share a little piece of your Christmas with a child who will literally get nothing this year.

Consider that the statistics I’ve shared with you are all about the wealth of America, measured in dollars. The statistics facing orphans are measured in the billions of lives.

Each kid has a story. And right now that story is messed up. It’s s story filled with abuse and malnutrition and lack of opportunity. But we can change that story for these kids.

This Christmas, get really crazy and ask your friends and family to spend their Christmas dollars on the poor. Be the one that shows them that Christmas is more than a gift wrapped box. It’s about God changing the story of history by sending His son Jesus into the world.

I’ll have more details later, but if this is something you’d like to do with us, leave a comment or question on the blog. And also leave your ideas about how to make Christmas about more than spending and gifts.