5 Ways to To Bring More Meaning To Your Family’s Holiday
The holiday gift-giving season is an appropriate time to involve children in charitable giving and teach them why the old adage, “It is better to give than to receive,” is true. Here are five great ways for parents to lead by example and teach their children the true spirit of the holidays.
1. As a family, select a charitable organization you’d like to support. Use online tools like Charity Navigator to find an organization that you trust. Give your children a budget and encourage them to decide how your family will donate to that organization this holiday.
2. Cherish the stories of your family. Have your children talk to their grandparents and write down the stories of their past. Create a book to share with the entire family or record it online through Story Corps.
3. Consider do-it-yourself gifts, like no-sew fleece blankets, that you can make with your children. Donate those blankets to a local homeless shelter. Find other homemade gift ideas at About.com’s Family Crafts page.
4. Work with your children to create a coupon book for your neighbors that might need an extra hand this year. Coupons could include shoveling their sidewalk, watching their children, or providing a meal.
5. Bake cookies or sweets with your children and deliver them to your local nursing home or school-in-need. Get started with this list of holiday recipes.
by Devin Hermanson, a charitable giving expert and national director of World Vision’s Gift Catalog
Holidays should be fun and not so stressful! When you find the time to enjoy the holiday and not stress over gifts or cooking for the entire family, it is much more enjoyable.
Each holiday I spend a lot of time doing crafts with my kids, reading holiday themed books and creating new traditions.
How about do-it-yourself gifts for the whole family? Even though kids are brainwashed by endless TV toy commercials, it’s important to teach them about the consequences of extreme consumerism and how the products are “marketed” to force people into useless spending. All that “stuff” will never be able to replace the true feeling of love and friendship without which no happiness is possible.