I have a love-hate relationship with the holidays. I love the festivities, decorations and parties. I love the book reading, cookie making, and hanging of lights. I love the anticipation of Santa's arrival. I love the smile on my children's faces on Christmas morning.
But the consumerism and materialism that comes along with it makes me feel pretty gross. And I am totally guilty of partaking. We will be giving our children gifts that are store bought (if only I knew how to knit legos!). Some of the gifts will be packaged in plastic. Some will be made in China or somewhere else that is likely not giving its employees a living wage. But my children will be bright-eyed when they open them and the magic of Christmas will make me forget about all of the social and environmental injustices that went into making those gifts.... at least temporarily.
Don't get me wrong-- I am conscious of my impact and try to reduce it--- buying toys locally when available, making gifts or buying from etsy, and reusing wrappings. But I feel like it's not enough. I am mentally making plans for ways to re-vamp our Christmas that will ease our burden on the Earth, without damping the joy for my children. I haven't quite figured out how to pull it off... yet...... but I do have some plans in the works for next year.
Anyways, the point of the post wasn't supposed to be a rant about the downsides of the holidays. I sat down this morning to write about how, despite all of the consumerism that surrounds the holidays, Todd and I make a point of emphasizing to our children that the holiday season is about giving and sharing what you have-- whether that is money, time or love. We typically give during the holidays by donating to others in need-- toys for tots, sending money to Heifer International, and donating to a family in need. We make our children aware of why we are helping, but there is a big disconnect-- sending a check in the mail doesn't mean a lot to a 7 year old. And yes, choosing and bringing a toy to a toy drive is great, but when they don't see who that toy is going to, I am not sure if it really sinks in.
So, this year, in addition to our regular donations, we borrowed an idea from a friend and decided to make care bags for homeless people. We purchased socks, hats, gloves, toothbrushes and some snacks. The kids divided everything up into gallon sized plastic bags and added a note that said "happy holidays". We decided to keep them in the car and when we see someone who is down on their luck, we can share ours. Finn enjoyed choosing what to put in the bags and assembling them. And after giving out our first bag a couple of days ago, he continued to talk about it for several hours afterwards.
Do you share your luck during the holidays? If you do, how? I would love to compile some more ideas that we could use for future holidays or throughout the year.
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that is a great idea! I always felt rotten about the presents and gift giving but I knew we did why less than others. I guess it's all about balance. I love giving money to favorite charities (st. jude, and spca) Because my children were healthy and I love my dog. There are so many ways to help others!
ReplyDeleteI think you are right-- finding a balance is the way to go!
DeleteI have heard of this idea before, but haven't tried it yet. I am curious to hear how it works out for you guys. We live rurally, which doesn't lend itself very well to giving them out, but we are occasionally in the city, and could definitely have a few things in the car to share.
ReplyDeleteWe have only delivered a few so far, but it has gone well!
DeleteWe just did this last week! The kids are always worried about the homeless people we see on the street and they love making these bags.
ReplyDeleteThat's so awesome! My kids are always worried about the homeless as well, so I figured it would be perfect!
DeleteTaryn - I love this idea. I'm totally with you about the consumerism of Christmas. I cut back a lot this year on gifts for the grandkids - we are giving each of them a book, a homemade pillow case and a craft. My son in Mexico is also getting the idea that Christmas isn't about stuff - its about giving and helping and sharing. The high school I teach at helps hundreds of low income families in our area, with Christmas each year - the students just give and give and give and love it. It makes them happy to help others and I love being even a small part if it! I love that you are helping your children learn this very important lesson. This little bags for the homeless are a great idea that could make someone's day just a bit brighter. Thanks for sharing. Happy Holidays to you and your family! Thanks again for a really great, thoughtful post!
ReplyDeleteThanks Deb. It's amazing how much children enjoy giving, isn't it?
DeleteI'm with you on the gifts! My thing is wrapping paper, cringe. I love what you guys did, I think you are right ~ the delivery makes it a whole new experience. I'm going to pocket this for next year, this year we donating toys and foods through donation boxes. My favorite thing we have done in the past was to collect food donations outside of a grocery store and then we walked them to the food bank (with a co-op). The kids were completely amazed by the generosity of others, so I loved them experiencing that side of it too. My kids generally prefer animals over people, so this year their own money is going to cat food at the pound. :)
ReplyDeleteCollecting food right outside the store sounds like a great idea! Thanks for sharing
DeleteWhat a great idea. Mostly every year we pack shoe boxes to send to people overseas. The program is called Operation Christmas Child. It's always a rewarding experience to give.
ReplyDeleteI have heard of the shoeboxes before.... I think that will be on my list for next year. Thanks for the reminder!!
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