The Joy of Giving
The holidays are here and many families have different traditions they partake in. We celebrate Christmas Eve with hubby’s family and then Christmas Day with my family. There is a lot of good food and plenty of presents to open. We even have Santa come by Christmas Eve to hand out everyone’s presents to them. This year will be that much more special since Christmas Eve is also Gian-Michael’s birthday.
A few years ago when Bella was two, I decided I didn’t want her to ever think that Christmas is for getting. I really wanted to instill the importance of charity. While we were out shopping, I had her pick two toys, one for a boy and one for a girl, and then we dropped it off in the Toys for Tots box. Right away, she asked why we did this and I explained that even though Santa makes his way to everyone’s house for Christmas, some kids only get the one toy from Santa. They don’t have a lot of presents to open and we should share what we have. Of course at two years old I wasn’t sure she really got it, but then we did it again when she was three. This time it seemed to sink in a little better. This year, I was packing clothes to donate to one of the many charities who come to collect and my little princess decided to go through her toys and pack up some toys for kids who don’t have any. How proud was I at that moment?
She filled up one big garbage bag full of stuffed animals, books and toys. It was great to see that she is actually learning about charity. Her school is sending shoe boxes full of items to children in other countries in need and she helped pick out the items that we were going to donate. The best thing about that shopping trip is she understood it was for the donations and not once asked for anything for herself. She also asked if we would be buying toys to put in the toy box again. She has already chosen the two toys she wants to donate. A new tradition has been born.
You know, I often wonder what kind of grown up my little girl will turn out to be. Every day she gives me new faith that I am doing my job well and she will turn out to be a kind and loving adult. I am excited for her to teach her younger brother, as they get older, the joy of giving. It makes me so happy to know that all my lessons are sinking in and that I am teaching them some important values to carry on with them.
