The Holiday Spirit Of Giving

"Instead of a gem, or even a flower, we should cast the gift of a loving thought into the hearts of family and friends, that would be giving as the angels give." 

This week I was out shopping and found myself inside Hallmark looking for wrapping paper, bows, ribbons and a get well card.  A few feet away I saw boxes of beautiful old English style Christmas cards and it brought me way back to my childhood memories, when mailing out our cards was an important and special part of the holiday tradition.

Sadly, I don't think I've "mailed" a card out in years to anyone!  In the store, I could feel the sadness and guilt setting in, so I made a decision to return to this tradition and just that thought restored my cheer and enthusiasm of the holidays.  These simple, yet sentimental activities really do bring about enormous pleasure once you get started!

I have been trying much harder this Christmas to teach my children about the true spirit of giving.  At my daughter's school, they are busily collecting food items to donate to those families who are less fortunate than our own.  She originally said that she had to bring in just three items to receive a free ticket for the dance.  I questioned her with the idea of not stopping at three, after all the food drive is not about the dance, it's about helping to feed the hungry, and how can we ever demonstrate and feel compassion towards others if we don't take the time to stop and think about whole situation.  We do not know what it feels like to be hungry.  After thinking about it from that perspective, she has wanted and asked to bring food in every day, she's brought in over fifty items so far and has set a positive example to the rest of her class.  She is encouraging others to follow the same and I couldn't be more proud of her!

The next thing we'll be doing in honour of the gift-giving spirit, is visiting a toy store and purchasing a toy to donate to a local charity drive.  The only purchase from the store will be the donated gift (we will not shop for ourselves at the same time!), which I will let my daughter pick out.  Then we will drop it off together.

I'm hoping my daughter, and son too though it's harder for him to understand, will realize that Christmas has many important messages and meanings, but we must try hard to remember the true spirit of giving at this time of year.  We must feel the gratitude for what we have and never forget those less fortunate who depend on our compassion and help at Christmas and all throughout the year.  We should keep everyone in our thoughts and prayers at Christmas.

My video for today is one of my favourite Christmas tunes to get us all in that cozy spirited mood for "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas"...

  

And thank you all for your movie suggestions and supporting the idea...I think I'll do a couple leading up to Christmas.  Look for them week December 26-30th!

Cheers!
Linda