Let’s talk about presents. It’s a popular topic this time of year. There are gifts galore and options all around. Stuffed animals that hatch and are hard to find and cost a lot of money. Legos that basically never go on sale. American Girl dolls that my husband cannot wrap his mind around. And don’t even get me started on all of the electronics. Can you tell some things my people are asking for this Christmas? It’s all fun. Really, it is.
As parents we want to give our children things that are meaningful to them. This year in addition to giving our kids things that are meaningful to them, we want to give gifts all around that are meaningful to others. In my research for ways to give meaningful gifts that benefit others, I’ve found some really great options. Check them out below!
Compassion International Gift Catalog
Give a goat. Or a chicken. Or baking classes. Or electricity. Give a gift that is tangible and life-giving to someone else. I know families do this many different ways — one idea that we like is that we let each of our children pick out what gift they want to give. One child may choose a goat and one may choose three chickens, and they love that they’re giving something so special. It’s a great opportunity to open their eyes to what life is like outside of America.
Gifting Meaningful Jewelry
Companies such as Noonday are socially responsible businesses that give the profits back to the women who make the goods. Beautiful gifts and money going back where it should = win, win.
Sponsoring a Child
There are many different organizations from which you can choose to go through to sponsor a child. Choose one that is a legitimate organization, and you will be making an awesome choice. This is a great way to get kids involved at Christmas and year round.
Gifts that support marginalized people groups
For example the International Justice Mission catalog allows you to pick a gift to give to help those who are at risk such as widows and orphans, as well as fighting slavery and sex trafficking.
Serving instead of presents
Pick an area and get to work. Take your kids and get them involved. Even simple things such as taking food to emergency responders is a great way for all of us to serve. Check out this post from our Managing Editor, Francesca, with lots of options for getting involved in our community!
