Christmas time is indeed the season for giving! It brings great joy to me to pass along to our son the gift of giving, and for him to think of others during this joyous season. It’s not all about him, Santa, or the gifts that he’ll be getting but about making others happy through random acts of kindness.
This year we made gift bags for the elderly in a convalescent center close to our home. I called the coordinator in charge of donations and made an appointment to see her. We were blessed to have the opportunity to personally gift two amazing elderly ladies who love to write and color. Little one personally handed them the gift bag and saw first-hand how amazingly grateful they were. The rest of the gifts the coordinator was going to give out on Christmas day during their annual Christmas party.
You may be wondering what we gifted them.
Little one and I had been talking about giving away “donating” some of his stuffed animals. I know it was hard for him to let go, but I wanted him to know that he’d be making someone else very happy. He went through his gently used stuffed animals and picked out the ones we were to gift. I washed them and put them in gift bags with some tissue paper.
He also helped me fill 25 goody bags that included pens, pencils, erasers, note pads, and homemade book markers (from upcycled Christmas cards from years past). The supplies I had purchased during the after-school clearance sales, and the pens were from past workshops and conferences that I had been to.
We filled 15 mini-stockings, and mittens that I found on clearance last year; and filled them with sample shampoos, and conditioners. Mostly these were samples that I got for free in the mail, and the others were from past stays in hotels that I’ve been collecting from our travels. Little one also made our traditional big lollipop Christmas card. We’ve been making them for years now, and you can see the instructions here.
As we were heading out, my child told me, “Mamá, I’m happy that my stuffed animals have new friends, and that the ladies really liked them.”
Making gifts doesn’t have to break the bank. With a little bit of planning, and help from your children you can certainly make meaningful, and special gifts.
Do you need more inspiration? Not sure where to start? My dear friend Leanna from All Done Monkey has suggestions, and ideas on committing random acts of kindness for you and your children.
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