Sunday, November 27, 2011

The Joy of Giving!

I wanted to title the post "26 days of giving" but I didn't want to mislead anyone into thinking that the blog was having a giveaway.  Cause it's not.  This post is the launch of a family project we're beginning tomorrow to make an effort at teaching our children the joy of giving this holiday season.  We all know that kids enjoy receiving their gifts on Christmas and I think that's great but I want my children understand that there are others out there that don't always receive like they do and to understand the joy that comes in seeing someone else receive.

So I sat down and brainstormed - with a little help from my mama friends online - 26 different groups of people/places/causes that the kids and I could do simple things for this holiday season.  Now I've never done this project before so it's all new to me as much as it is to you readers but I have a few ideas about how it might work.  So let me start with our list.  I tried to do something for each letter of the alphabet.  Some things at the end don't match the letters of the alphabet. 


a - aunts - make treats
b - brothers - ??
c – cousins – get or make small gifts
d - doctor - make treats
e - elderly - make cards to take to nursing home
f - family - spend the day together
g - grandparents - make cards
h - humane society - take old towels and blankets in for the animals
i - imprisoned Christians – Voice of the Martyr
j - jail - make cards
k - kitchen - make a meal for a shut in friend
l - librarian - make treats
m - military - make cards
n - neighbors - make treats
o – officers – take treats to police station
p - (a family we're close to at church) - make treats
q - make quilt ornaments for my grandma (it's her hobby)
r - radio station
s - Sunday school teachers - make treats
t - toys for tots - set a budget and let the kids help pick a toy to give
u - uncles - make treats
v - veterans
w - world - clean up trash at a park or on a walk
x - BIHN - the homeless network run by local churches
y - Pastors
z - postal worker

Other opportunities are coming up as time goes by - such as the coat drive.  We have some outgrown coats I was getting rid of anyway this might be a great opportunity for us.  We're going to stay flexible but on task.  Giving is the key - and keeping the kids involved in the giving is key.  I put each of those things on a slip of paper in a jar and each day we'll draw our giving task for the day.  We will make or put together the items for whichever task that day and each Saturday as a family we will set out to do the actual giving.  Mostly because I don't want to take four children out daily for the next 26 days - the only thing that will GIVE is more gray hairs to my already growing collection.  We also want to be able to include KOJ in our project and this is a viable way to do that.  Some of the giving will be done anonymously - I plan to "elf" the neighbors and some friends rather than give straight to them.  Some of it will be done face to face.  The key here is to allow the children to see the joy that others get when we give.  To feel the joy that we can have in giving.
So tomorrow the fun starts.  I'll be posting my blogs in the late afternoon/evenings for the next month so that I can share pics of our activities each day.  So come on back and join in the fun at home too!  It is far more blessed to give than to receive!

3 comments:

  1. This sounds like a great project! What a great way to help others and show love for others. I am sure you'll all be blessed by it and hopefully it can become a neat little tradition that they fondly remember!

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  2. I love this idea! I won't lie - I like to get gifts and I love surprises, but it doesn't compare to the thrill I get when giving to someone else.

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