Teaching Our Kids to Give #SearsMom

The Christmas season in our home growing up was always warm & happy. Leading up to Christmas, the four of us kids would take turns with the Wishbook, laying on the floor beside the stereo and listening to Christmas tapes while earmarking pages and scribbling down things onto very long pieces of paper. We all knew that not in our wildest dreams would we ever get even a quarter of the things on our lists, but oh what fun it was to dream! 

Christmas was not elaborate, and there was almost always a mountain of presents around the tree, but it was a small tree and there were 6 of us altogether. My mom put so much thought into the gifts that she gave - we all got one 'big' gift, and then several 'small' gifts - I don't know what her budget was for all four of us, but, looking back on our situation, I'm sure that it wasn't big.  In spite of the the small budget, it was always a thrill for us to gather around the tree, draw names, and take turns unwrapping, getting, giving, & sharing.

One Christmas, when I was about 5 or 6, the gift that I unwrapped was a Cabbage Patch doll.  I was ecstatic.  I named her Tracy. And then I thanked my mom for her almost every day for the next year.

Until my first year of marriage when my amazing husband gave me a Christmas present of a lit forest in our bedroom, Tracy lived at the very top of my list of best Christmas presents ever received. It was twenty-some years ago (do you really need to know?) and I still remember the feeling. Excitement. Gratitude. Elation. I felt special.

Reflecting on our life up til this point, I realize that somehow, in the midst of raising us, my parents gave my siblings and I an incredible gift - they made us givers. I loved scouring the stores year round to find the perfect present for friends and family while growing up. If it cost a little or a lot, if I had the money and if the gift was perfect, I'd get it. I introduced and organized the Operation Christmas Child program in my highschool and always made several boxes to send along from what I earned at my job. I frequently stopped by my youth pastor's house when he was out at meetings and offered to babysit so that his ever-patient and loving wife could get out of the house and away from the colicky baby. I'm not telling you these things to toot my own horn; I'm just trying to figure out what in the world my parents did with us to nurture these tendencies in my own children.

I have an almost 3 year old boy and a one and a half year old girl. I so very much look forward to finding them that perfect gift that they're going to love and cherish memories of until they  have someone special in their life that makes an even greater effort yet. But I also desperately want to instill in them a desire to give. A need to give. I want them to just as much look forward to the joy of giving a present to someone else as they to the expectation of getting something from someone. I want my children to be JOYFUL GIVERS. I'm new at this game, and I don't know the answers, yet. These are some of the things that I'm thinking, though, and I'd be so grateful if you added your own ideas to my list, in the comment section.

1. Celebrate the Advent season by helping the kids do Random Acts of Kindness.  There are some fantastic ideas on Pinterest for this one.
2. Hendrik loves looking through flyers, and especially the Sears Wishbook - I'm contemplating starting a tradition of looking through the Wishbook with him to find a toy that another little boy in Hamilton would just love to have - and then going to the store together, buying it, wrapping it, and giving it to the City Kidz Gift of Christmas program.
3. Teach them to put aside money for others when they earn it or are given it. We do this when we tithe to our church monthly, but it's hard for them to see since we don't put it into the offering plate - it comes out of our account automatically. As such, we need to make a practice of talking about it more, and why it's important to give away some of what we've been blessed with.
4. Talk about how much we have, how little we actually need, and how we can use the difference to make an impact on someone else in our community. 
5. Put a lot of thought into what we give to them, so that they know and understand the joy of receiving. 

Even I knew as a young child that we didn't have a money to spend on extras - and we were, from time to time, the recipients of the above types of gifts from others.  We were the ones who didn't have as much as others.  I know what it feels like to get a treat so unexpected and special - is it because I know how much it means to receive that I love to give? I'm not sure - but in the midst of the busy Christmas seasons as my children grow up, I want them to take time to dream, to wish, to be thankful, and to share. 

What do you do with your kids to encourage them to give in the midst of getting? Do you involve your kids if you donate presents to families with less? Do you have any traditions of gathering around the Wishbook, dreaming of the newest, hottest toys with your kids? 

Sears Canada is also hosting a fun giveaway on their facebook page - every Friday until December 13th, Sears will be doing their own giving - you can win one of the hottest toys of the Christmas Season just by commenting on their post!

Disclosure: I am part of the Sears Mom Ambassador program with Mom Central Canada and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.