Tis the Season of Giving! Or… shopping maybe. It can be difficult in our mad rush to step back and remember to think of someone else besides ourselves and our families. We can get so busy.
Let’s hit a pause on the busy this year. Find some time to give and teach both ourselves and our children what the Heart of Christmas should really be about!
Here’s twelve ideas on ways to give a little back this year. Listed in no particular order. Pick one or two, or all twelve if you are capable!
1. Family Fundraiser.
There are so many ways to do this! The basic idea is donating to charity, but making the donation a family (or group) event! Be sure to choose a charity that has special meaning to you or your family. And do consider local ones as well as the large ones. This can be as simple as scheduling some extra cash away from presents and towards charity this year, or as complex as a Family Fundraiser Showdown where everyone competes to see who can raise the most cash for Christmas! Parents can match the kids donations, you can bake and sell cookies, or kids can do chores for family and friends, family members can give secretly in a special secret giving box, or whatever. It’s up to you and your imaginations. The point is to get everyone excited about giving.
2. Family Donation Drive.
Go through your closets and garage’s and the backs of your cupboards and find things you just don’t use anymore and donate them. This is a great way to cut down on an overflow of children’s toys, just make sure you involve the kids and they get a say in what goes. Be sure not to donate junk, but rather things of good quality that have just been put aside, or maybe you just don’t need. Ask yourself, do you really need this extra pair of shoes when you have so many? Talk to your children about the kids out there who don’t have as many toys as they do, and wouldn’t it be nice to give them some of the ones your child doesn’t play with anymore? Don’t force it. Starting young can instill a desire to give so strongly in your children that soon they might be the ones suggesting things to give!
3. Volunteer at a Soup Kitchen or Other Food Distribution Site.
I have early memories of volunteering at a soup kitchen. It was such a blessing in my young life to see how much I could bless others who had so little just by sharing a smile. I was to little to handle anything more than the trays at the beginning of the line, but I could tell by the looks on the peoples faces that my smile brightened their day. This can be a great family activity but you certainly don’t have to have a family to do it. I promise you going out and giving will bless you and change you, maybe even more than it does the people you are giving to.
4. Adopt a Family for Christmas.
Another great way to give back is to Adopt a Family specifically for Christmas. You can do this in all sorts of ways, their are small “shoeboxes” at places like the Christian Bookstore in your town you can fill and have sent to someone in need. Or many churches will have “Angel Trees” covered in cards, each representing a family in need with some specifics about ages, sizes, and wishes. You can plug in to the foster care programs in your area to see what needs you might be able to cover. Again, if you have kids, get them involved as much as possible! Let them know what you are doing, and help choose the gifts you buy. And if part of the program allows you to bring the gifts to the family yourself, do so! And bring the kids if you can! Being the Hands and Feet of Jesus should be a proactive activity.
5. Go Christmas Caroling at a Senior Living Center.
This can be a really fun thing to do. I know whenever I stop by the Senior Living place my Grandmother recently moved into I can tell just the sight of my baby girl is enough to brighten any of the residents day as we walk through the halls. Still some centers get more traffic than others, so if possible do your research so if one is being overlooked in your area you can go there.
6. Write a Letter or Send a Christmas Card to Someone Serving Overseas.
It’s a great thing to support our military. No matter what you feel about any particular conflict we should support those who sacrifice their time and effort, sometimes their very lives, for our country. You can send a simple Christmas Card with a handwritten note of thanks, or you could send cookies. Involve the kids and the cookies may be a bit sloppier, but might be just that much sweeter to the recipient. A hand made card from a child does wonders in touching the heart. Be sure to research how to pack and send the goodies!
7. Adopt a Military Family
Kind of like Adopting a Family, but specifically finding a military family to help. The Troops aren’t the only ones who sacrifice, the families sacrifice so much as well. Let’s not forget them! If you can’t find any local families through a local church or something of that sort you may need to donate through an organization.
8. Visit the Sick
This one, for safety reasons, you might not be able to bring your children on, but I really encourage you to consider it just the same. I can’t imagine being alone and sick in a hospital or convalescent center over the holidays. Pray for them, love on them, listen to them, maybe bring a plant if possible to brighten up their day.
9. Visit those in Prison
There are many people in our prisons who need God’s love. They may be repentant, they may not be, that isn’t the point. God loves everyone and so should we. This one you definitely can’t bring your kids on, though, if allowed, maybe they can make a card to send through the mail. Plug into a local prison outreach ministry. You have no idea how much your words and time might speak to these people. Yes, they are criminals, but God offers Salvation to all. Think of it this way, they are a person, just like you and me, who made a mistake, just like you and me, and they may have no one in this world who wants anything to do with them because of it. Show them that God wants something to do with them, even if the rest of the world has rejected them.
10. Just Give Here, Give There.
Do you have an extra dollar here and there? Why not NOT rush past the Santa ringing the bell, and stick a few bucks in the red can. Or maybe cover someone’s coffee in the Starbucks line, or the next person in line at the grocery. Lend a helping hand where you see it needed. Just look for opportunities to give, and give. Keep your eye’s and heart wide open! Listen for that Still Small Voice, and see what you find! It’s like a Giving Treasure Hunt!
11. Give a Smile.
This is something I don’t think a lot of people always think about, but our general attitude towards life can be a gift or a curse to those around us. A friend of mine who’s husband just recently got out of the military was telling me awhile ago about how she would visit this coffee shop while they were living on the other side of the country. You see one of the people who worked there had a great attitude and warm smile that reminded her of her brother. She never really talked to the guy, or even knew his name, but she’d go in, and it would be a bright spot in her day, just his happy attitude. So give a smile, be warm and kind, even when the stress of the holidays is driving you mad. Spread a little “Peace on Earth.”
12. Don’t Stop Giving!
Ok, now you’ve gotten a taste of giving. Why does it have to stop with the season? Soup Kitchens don’t only run at Christmas. Prisons are always full of lonely souls. Every day there are people out there in need of a bright spot and a blessing. Christmas is a wonderful time to give, but so is every day. And no, you can’t give to everything all the time, but you can give some, of your time, your talents, your treasures, all the year through. Make giving a lifestyle. Make being Jesus Hands and Feet a lifestyle. Extend the Magic of Christmas all the Year Through!
~
Wouldn’t it be beautiful if we all looked at our lives as resources to use to serve others?
I remember being a child and finding out that our friends car had broken down the day they were planning to go on vacation. We were over at the house to say goodbye. My brother and I instantly looked at each other and thought nearly the identical thought, “Well, we have a van, they can borrow that!” The beautiful thing is that we had this thought because that was the kind of thing my parents would do with that old van, and in fact that was the thought my parents had in that moment as well. So with a little trading around of car keys we sent out friends off on their vacation just a few hours late, in our van. Let me tell you that van lasted for years, and sometimes my Mom and I would talk about how long it lasted, and wonder if God had kept it going so long because we were willing to give it away.
It’s one of those mad, crazy, upside down things about the way God works but it’s true. No matter how much you give, the blessing you receive will always be greater. Trust me.
Have a Very Merry Giving Christmas!
~ Joy Aletheia Stevens
Do you have any more ideas on how to give back during the holidays? Or stories on how giving back has blessed your life? I’d love to hear them! Please comment and share!
Photo Credit: by Aubrey (CC BY 2.0)
Photo Credit: by SJU undergraduate admissions (CC BY 2.0)
Photo Credit: by Alan Cleaver (CC BY 2.0)
Photo Credit: by Glenn Waters (CC BY 2.0)
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