Children want to give. I remember so badly I wanted to give my aunts, uncles, cousins and siblings gifts at Christmas but had no money. I went into the linen closet and there was a bounty of white Dove soap. Aha. I took out crayons and colored the soaps for each member of my family, put them back in their boxes and wrapped them. Children are wired to be generous. Don’t take this away from them, bolster it. Try these two activities this month.
First, have your children each come up with a short list of people they would like to buy presents for. Give them $15 each and take them to The Dollar Store or Christmas Tree Shop. Let them wrap and distribute they're gifts. This is tried and true in our household, its an activity that tremendously shaped my son's heart. My son's school just outside of DC let students bring a family/friend list in and up to $15 to shop the school's Christmas Store -- moms created this store in the library lasting for two special shopping days.created. Mom volunteers help each child shop and wrap. Most items were between 50 cents and $3.
I remember so vividly my first grader barelling through our front door like Santa Claus with a big sack of toys labelled for his siblings, dog and grandparents. It was one of his proudest memories.
Second, generosity doesn't have to come from material possessions. The simplest way a child can be generous is by praying for others. Encourage your child to pray for others, let their heart be generous this will in turn create great joy.
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