Just by happenstance, our kids have already sat on Santa's lap THREE TIMES this holiday season! I've been noticing (with a bit of cash-poor dismay) that their wishlists seem to be getting longer with each St. Nick-visit and it's got me thinking hard about ways that I can help my children focus on giving during the this toy-centered time of year.
Here are a few of the ideas I've come up with - I would LOVE to hear about how you are teaching your kids generosity during the holidays so please share!
Include Children In Neighbor Gift-Making/Giving
We've come up with a craft we can all work on together to deliver around to our friends and neighbors. We will be caroling and handing them out each evening before dinner over the next few weeks, in hopes of making giving a daily part of our holiday season.
Help Them Share Their Talents
My grandfather passed away just after Christmas 3 years ago in a wonderful elderly care center and I always miss him extra hard during the month of December. So, we've been practicing our Christmas carols since October, in preparation for visits to several nearby nursing homes during the holiday season. The look of joy on the faces of those sweet people, many who don't receive visitors for weeks on end, is something I want my children to know they can give just by sharing their talents.
Involve Them In Volunteering
or Charitable Opportunities
or Charitable Opportunities
Remembering that there are children who won't get anything on their wishlist this Christmas helps to put a kid's own desires into a bit of perspective. Here are some great national volunteer/charity projects going on that your family can participate in for little or no cost!
GiveBack: Ever wished that the money you spent on Christmas gifts could go a little further? Do your shopping through GiveBack and up to 15% of your $ goes back into the charity of your choice! (Mom, if you're listening, Oprah loves this site!) They have hundreds retailers participating, including some of my all-time faves - Target, iTunes, Boden, Marriot, Travelocity, Shutterfly, Gap, Borders, Land of Nod - need I go on? It's completely free and actually really fun - I just set my account up last night and have already donated to several great causes! This is a great way for older kids to get their Christmas shopping done quickly and make the world a better place at the same time.
GiveBack: Ever wished that the money you spent on Christmas gifts could go a little further? Do your shopping through GiveBack and up to 15% of your $ goes back into the charity of your choice! (Mom, if you're listening, Oprah loves this site!) They have hundreds retailers participating, including some of my all-time faves - Target, iTunes, Boden, Marriot, Travelocity, Shutterfly, Gap, Borders, Land of Nod - need I go on? It's completely free and actually really fun - I just set my account up last night and have already donated to several great causes! This is a great way for older kids to get their Christmas shopping done quickly and make the world a better place at the same time.
GenerationOn: This awesome organization, which encourages children and teens to volunteer in the community, has partnered with Hasbro for their Holiday Gift Campaign: For every pledge of service made between December 3 and December 10, 2010, Hasbro will give a toy to a child in need through the Toys for Tots Holiday Gift Campaign.
The Fresh Air Fund: When we discovered this program, my kids were amazed to learn that some kids live in places where it isn't safe to even play outside. The thought of it just breaks my heart. Impressively, The Fresh Air Fund has been giving inner-city children the joy of a summer vacation for over 100 years with volunteer host families and at Fund camps, helping them enjoy healthy, positive activities and create unforgettable memories.
WorldVision: It's amazing how far a twenty-dollar bill can go to bless children half-way across the world. For under $20 the WorldVision organization can help you provide a needy family with 1 rabbit or 2 basketballs or 3 ducks or an entire set of bednets! I think it would be fun to hand my kiddos the WorldVision Gift Catalog (their free), give them a budget and let them decide what they would like to give a child in need.
Give The Gift of Service To Loved Ones
Give The Gift of Service To Loved Ones
Rather than take my kids to the dollar store this year and have them spend their hard-earned money on junk to give to grandparents (which is what we did last year), we've decided to help each child make a Service Coupon Book they can give, filled with activities they can do to help or show love for them. The coupons range from as simple as "Good For One Really Big Hug" to things we hope our children will develop a sense of duty towards like "Good For One Weed-Free Garden". Be sure to let your kids help decide what they'd like to give so they're not grumpy when it comes time to redeem!
What sort of "giving" do you and your family do during the holidays?
What are your favorite charities?
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4 comments:
We always adopt a family and provide Christmas for them.
My favorite charities are Kiva.org and the Heifer project - Heifer.org. They are both awesome charities and we've supported them for years. I also get time off work to help at the Food Bank, which is awesome. My boys are very community minded all year round.
Blake is a Scout and does a lot of service projects with them and Matt has gone on several week-long service missions with our church, partly on his own dime. He's been to New Orleans, a reservation in Wyoming, San Francisco's tenderloin district, and one in Oregon. Blake will do his first trip this summer at a reservation in Arizona.
Every year we usually pick an ornament off the gift tree at Walmart and we pick up what it is that has been requested. I try to explain to my girls (6 & 3) why we do this. And they always ask me why I'm crying as we walk through the store. (Last year it was a 1 y.o. girl who needed blankets. BLANKETS. It was devastateding.) I don't think they quite get it yet, but I think that if it is done year after year they will learn that it truly is better to give to those in need than to receive.
And now I'm crying again....
My family does the 12 days of Christmas for someone each year for someone who needs a little extra love--usually (but not necessarily) an elderly person. We make simple crafts and ornaments and leave them anonymously on the doorstep for 12 days beginning 12/14 and ending 12/25. We have had MANY wonderful experiences doing this for about 30 years now.
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