Teaching Kids the Lesson of Giving through the Holidays + 7 Great Locations to Donate Toys!

Christmas time is always a favorite of mine – all of the beautiful decor, yummy food and gorgeous lights. Not to mention it is the time of the year we get to celebrate the birth of Jesus and His gift to all of us. I love to give my kids gifts. It really touches my heart when I get to watch my kiddos open up their gifts, see their smiles and their excitement. However, it seems like more and more my kids are beginning to expect extravagant gifts. I want to be able to provide those things for my kids but I don’t want my kids to EXPECT anything. I want my kids to enjoy celebrating CHRIST and participate in giving to others!

I have spent a great deal of time thinking about ways to help encourage my kids to stop with the “I wants” and inspire the “I wish”. What this means is instead of listening to all the “I wants” for their own Christmas wish lists, I am doing my best to steer my kids in thinking about other people who may be better deserving of those very same items. For instance my kids love scooters, so when they ask for this item I return with asking them if they can think of someone or somewhere else that might not even have the opportunity to receive such an awesome toy. We have come up with a list of several great charities that could greatly benefit from donating one toy off each of our kids wishlist.

What this means is that we are taking one of the toys that my own kids wished for this year and donating it. This teaches my kids not only the lesson of giving, but also the lesson of sacrifice.

Here are a few charities to donate to this holiday season:

• Toys for Tots
• Woman’s and Children’s Shelters
• Foster Homes and Associations – We have something called Kidstlc which is for kids that have been immediately removed from their homes and are not yet in the foster system)
• Hospitals
• Military Bases
• Operation Christmas Child
• Make a Wish Foundation

The best part is watching my kids go from saying “I want” every time they see a toy they would like to saying “I wish” I could give that toy to a kid in need!