‘Tis the Season for Giving

The holiday season presents a time of giving, and giving to not only your loved ones, but to those all around you. However, with all the hustle and bustle that comes with the holiday cheer, we often lose sight of the importance to give back. Take this holiday season as an opportunity to get your family and friends on board with you in making a sincere effort to make a difference this season.

Give back to your community!
Giving back to your community offers a great starting point for you and your family. Encourage your children to offer an assisting hand to your elderly neighbor with shoveling their snow-covered driveway or brushing off their cars. Other suggestions include volunteering at a local soup kitchen or donating to a local holiday charity. Most towns hold a number of charities during the holiday season and can take donations from a variety of locations such as churches, police stations, or schools. Always a popular holiday charity, the organization Toys for Tots collects new, unwrapped toys and later distributes them to less fortunate children in the community.

Be creative!
Getting creative can be the best way to get into the joy of giving back.  By coming up with new unique ways to give back makes it easier and more fun to get your kids excited to be involved. The holiday season filled with parties and fun festivities provides the perfect opportunity to host your own mini can drive. Simply include a request in your invitation for each family or couple to bring a minimum of two or three canned food items, and then donate all the ones you collect to a local food pantry.

Kids giving to kids!
As a young college student myself, I feel as though every time I’m home for a break my Mom insists that I clean out my closet to get rid of anything that I don’t want anymore. As annoying of a task it may seem, it really provides an easy way to give back to other children without paying a cost. This not only clears out my closet, but also fills another one that currently remains quite empty, it can’t get much better than that! Younger children can also do this with old toys or books they don’t play with anymore, and you can even suggest they put together their own gift baskets filled with toys to donate. This simple suggestion gives your child the chance to make a difference while also making a connection with a less fortunate child.

Mom Central