One thing I really want to make sure for this year is to keep everything simple. I don't want my kids opening truck loads of toys, nor do I want to be just buying little gifts for people just because-I want to make sure everything has meaning.
Quality over quantity is what I'm going for this year, and that means most of my gifts are coming from sites that benefit charities. I'm very excited about that.
But does anyone have any advice on how to get the kids on board to scale back the presents? To help them understand that it is far better to give than to receive? I was thinking about signing us up to hand out food at the local food shelter, but I'm not sure the kids will "get it".
I'm going to take the kids with me when we buy gifts for the angel tree at church, and hopefully they will not have meltdowns over buying toys for other kids without getting. I'm pretty confident they will be able to do well, but kids live to surprise their parents, so we will see.
What do you all think? Any ideas you have in your family for teaching compassion and sharing to your kids? Are there any traditions you have for keeping gift giving simple, budget friendly, and charitable?
I hope that in a few years, I can have quite a few wonderful traditions in place.
1 comment:
Obviously not a parent :) But when we were kids my parents did the angel tree thing too. I liked it because they really involved us in doing it. They told us why we were going to the store. They gave us the money, let us pick out the toy(s), bring them to the register, tell the clerk what we were doing, and then we got to help wrap them and bring them to church. I think it will really be exciting for them and they'll learn that giving really can be better than getting! :)
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