So, Christmastime is here, and along with that comes all the gift-giving. Well, in today's consumerist society, it's easy to get lost in all the crazy and forget what this is all about. And especially if you have kids, we need to be reminded about the true spirit of Christmas.
We are not meant to only give to those that can and will give back to us. We are also meant to give and share with those that cannot give back. So, if you want to really do some giving this Christmas, or you want to teach your kids about what true giving is all about, here is the perfect opportunity.
You can give the gift of an animal, or share of an animal, or a tree seedling, to a family in another country, where this would be not just a nice gift, but also a much needed source of food for them, as well as income. For example, you can give a gift of a heifer, which provides milk, and then provides offspring for the family to sell for income later. These gifts can bring whole families out of poverty. You can do this through the Heifer International, which provides a gift catalog that you can select an animal, or honeybees, or seedlings through. It's super easy! And they have all different amounts that you can donate, so anyone can do this. You can do an entire animal, or just a share of one. You just select the gift and then check out!
We have the actual paper catalog, but follow the link above to go to the online catalog.
If you have children, you can sit there with them, explain what it's all about, and then have them pick out the gift. The way I explained it was that Jesus came to the world, which is why we're celebrating Christmas, to teach us about love and giving and sacrifice. He wants us to care for each other, and when we give gifts, we can also give Christmas gifts to people we don't know, and it means so much to them. I explained how other parts of the world, a lot of the world really, is not like here, where we go get our food from the grocery store really easily, and that many families rely on their animals and gardens, and this is not only their source of food, but it is also how they get the money to support their families. And when we can help someone else out, we must try to. Especially when we are blessed with the means to do so.
This gives them a world view outside of what they know. This also teaches them about altruism. I saw this on Instagram, posted by @kissthegroundca, and it describes perfectly what you're teaching your child when you do this:
This is the true spirit of giving, and this is the perfect opportunity to show it. Merry Christmas!