'Tis the season.....

I will be the first to admit that I am not a huge fan of what Christmas has become... What I see now is an effort of American parents to simply appease their children of their every whim. Buying them every item on their wish list, or at least trying to. On the opposite end of the spectrum, I have seen some of the wish lists of kids, and even adults, that more closely resembles a list of what we put in our trash. A kid should never wish for shoes or a winter coat for Christmas.

With those thoughts in mind, I have personally been trying to change this pattern over the last couple of years, mainly by trying to adjust the thinking of my child and hoping it spreads from there. Last year, when I was in a position to get her almost anything she wanted, I made her think for the two weeks before Christmas, and she came up with a charity that meant something to her. The recipient of the donation does not mean that much, but, the fact that she made the choice heart felt and meaningful does.

In my family, while growing up, we usually had a "big gift" followed by clothes, toys and crap we didn't want. This year, for my daughters "big gift", we are going to make a donation to the cause of her choice. Last year, it was not her "big gift", but we did make a donation to the American Breast Cancer Foundation (the pet cause of a classmate that met a tragic end of her life in high school). This year I am challenging her to choose something that will make a difference on a more local social/economic scale.

On Christmas day we will sit down together at the computer, find that charitable orginazation, and donate a cash amount, still to be determined.

Now I know a lot of you are thinking that you cannot afford something like this or that your kids will think it is not a good idea. I am willing to wager money (to be donated to the charity of the winner's choosing) that if you take three minutes to explain what this type of gift means, they will think it's a great idea. Include them in on the decision, give them credit for making it, and watch them brag about "the gift" at school after the Christmas break. Now, some more of you might be thinking that you can't afford to do even that. Don't fret, there are more options. Time, for starters. Find a local group and arrange for a few hours a week that you and the kid(s) can help out. I am a firm believer that Karma plays a role in everyone's fortunes in the long run. A lot of groups out there need people hours more than monies donated. Who knows, maybe you and your child will be donating time next to your future employer or boss.

Now is the time to teach our kids that Christmas is about giving and has nothing to do with spoiling. I believe once we take the ME factor out of Christmas, the world as a whole will be a better place. Teach your kids that if they have a roof, heat and food (no matter how bad your cooking is), they are far better off than a growing number of kids in this country.

Remember to teach your kids to make heartfelt choices and everything will have a greater meaning.

Now in a small world view of life, the classmate my daughter lost and made a donation last year in her memory, was the daughter of a friend I went to high school with..... It all has a deeper meaning than we all think at first.....

Feel free to share this with ANYONE and EVERYONE you can...

Don't forget to click those ads, it raises money to be donated for those that need it way more than I ever will....

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