Are your wish lists made? Do your kids know what they want for Christmas? My guess is that they’ve already got these awesome dreams flying through their heads about the wonderful gifts that they will be receiving this year. I mean, honestly, we all LOVE to get gifts. It shows us in a very tangible and real way that people are thinking of us. Even if it is just a small handmade gift, sometimes those are truly the best gifts.
I have a 6 year old niece and while her toys are bursting out of her toy room, there are still a ton of things that she wants! Her list to Santa keeps growing and growing. One good thing about this is that it is not hard to ensure that when I buy her a present, I know I will be getting her something that she really wants. On the other hand, her parents are trying to figure out where all these new toys are going to go – they have no more space in their toy room, her bedroom, and are running out of space in their living room. (In all honesty, yes she is a little spoiled, after all, she’s the only niece we have and their only child.) I’m sure many of you can relate to this as well.
So here’s my challenge to you this weekend. Have your child:
Give to Get
In that I mean, have them go through their toys, stuffies, even clothing that they no longer play with or use and give them to someone who could truly use them. Local emergency shelters, children’s hospitals, maybe your local children’s aid know of people who would benefit from gently used toys. I will be doing that with my classroom toys and stuffies, my niece is doing that with her toys (some are going to her grandparents homes so that she can play with them when she visits as they have very few toys at their home), and my students are being challenged to do this as well. I know that the world of Covid has also made doing something like this a little harder than it used to be, after all there are some places that will not take certain things. However, this also presents a great opportunity for showing your children that in a time when the entire world is struggling, it is even more important to reach out and find little ways to help and let others know that there are people out there who care about them and who are willing to help.