RSS feedAs we approach the upcoming Christmas season, everyone seems to be in the “spirit of giving”. Giving toys to our kids, cologne to our significant others, sweaters to our siblings, etc…In this time when so many have so little to give, it seems people are finding a way. The malls are packed and the streets are crowded as ever on the weekends with holiday shoppers. My husband also notices this and says, “I thought we were in a recession!” I look over at him and smile, thinking the same thing.
Like some, however, I am feeling this recession thing but I figured I had at least 2 cents to shell out and give some of my ideas for giving this year that won’t cost a thing except a good heart and a little time…
- Give a thought to our troops overseas who aren’t coming home for the holidays.
- Give blood if you can. It could help someone get home for the holidays.
- Give a hand to your neighbor with something they may not be able to handle alone.
- Give words of encouragement to someone you know who may have lost their job or home this year.
- Give thanks because you still have a job and home this year.
I spoke to a young lady from Georgia on the phone last week who was calling to give her Tricare Military Insurance information to bill a claim for her 1 yr. old son. When I asked her who the primary insurance carrier was, she stated her husband, Jeffrey. She went on to tell me he was recently killed in Afghanistan. My heart instantly felt heavy. Before I hung up with her I gave her my blessings and I could hear the sincerity in her voice when she said thank you. My heart instantly felt lighter. I know my kind words and the things listed above are free to give and recession proof. Happy Holidays!
Thanks for the timely message and the great ideas, Karla!
Awesome article, Karla. I would like to add to this that we all challenge our children (those of us that have them)to participate in the giving. My family takes care of an elderly person that lives next door to us. We make an extra dish for her when we make meals, by son fills her bird feeders because she loves watching her birds, my daughter delivers the meals, etc. I believe the children today that have so much need to learn to give and take care of others. The gratification we all get from this is more than anything money can buy us!
As my family celebrates Hannukah, this year we are focusing on a Holiday Season where we use the time to give gifts of love to each other, and to those who touch our lives. The gift of appreciation, a simple “Thank you” for people who serve as volunteers, not just to the needy, but also for those people who take on lead roles in everyday capacities. A “Room Mother” at school, a “Team Mom” for sports, people who often take time out of their lives to do a little more for us on a daily basis throughout the year. When we take that extra moment to heartily smile and thank the bank teller, the worker at the drive-through window, we often get a brief moment of astoundment, and then a hearty smile in return. We like to believe this happines spreads on from those we touch to the others the recipients deal with in turn. The spread of love. It truly is the spirit of the season that provides the magic… not the decorations, not the gift giving… but the giving of love and self. Happy Holiday Season to all.
Karla, thank you for your comments. I have been exceptionally busy with travel and daily business issues with little time availability. I have wanted to slow down and take more time for myself. After reading your blog all I could do was be silent and feel the impact of your words. Thank you for the gift. That is a good beginning for me … be silent.
During this holiday season, my thoughts are with my friend Tom in Pennsylvania. I’ve been frineds with Tom since I was 15. Tom is a pilot for Jet Blue, and he and his wife and 3 sons have what on the surface seems like an idyllic existence, with a beautiful home and all of the typical suburban touches. Currently, their middle son Jack, who is 12 years old, is being tested for what is believed to be osteosarcoma of the thigh. This comes roughly 7 years after their oldest son Gavin, now 15, completed his final treatment for childhood leukemia, which he fought for over 5 years.
The struggles of life come in many forms and affect all people, across all faiths and creeds. While the most salient struggle during this particular holiday season would seem to be with unemployment and the accompanying loss of food and shelter, I ask you to give a thought to people like Tom and his family, for whom waking up every morning and having everyone they love within line of sight is the simplest yet greatest blessing of all.
Every year at this time I go with my husband and his parents to help serve food at Walter Memorial Church. It is such a giving and heartwarming experience. We meet wonderful and amazing people throughout this event. We feed them mashed potatoes, turkey, gravy, stuffing, coffee and dessert. For all the kids we have donations of christmas presents to hand out.
This year was most memorable for me when in the ending, (we were all packed up and ready to go home) this one lonely woman walks up to us with tears in her eyes asking if we knew of any other church that was doing this same thing as we had just done. This woman had just lost her job and had no money for christmas gifts for her children. We did our best to scramble in what we had leftover and gave her 2 really nice christmas presents and leftover christmas cookies. She left us with tears in our eyes and was so blessed and grateful for those little items.
I truly felt like I had made a small difference in the world. Never forget how blessed and lucky you are, it can always be much worse!
Blessings to you all!
Every year my family goes & visits an elderly home on Christmas day. We deliver blankets & socks to these people who are usually forgotten during this time of year. My dad plays guitar & we sing Christmas carols to the folks as well as the nursing staff. This yearly tradition has shown my children that we need to bless others during this season instead of ourselves. While getting toys from Santa is fun, we also need to take a moment and think about those less fortunate.Its only an hour out of our Christmas day, but to the people in these homes who sometime never get any visitors., the memories will last the year.
The smaller things in life really do make a great impact on people’s happiness. Just last Sunday, a group of friends and I decided to bake holiday cookies for the elderly. It was an event put together by the Bay View Community Center. They were very grateful for our “donations”. We ended up bringing them around 15 dozen cookies to distribute to various nursing homes!
I found This Blog while I was searching msn on key term web gifts. I like content posted. Keep up the excellent work.Thanks!