Quit Being a Christmas Glutton - Don't Forget Your Charitable Giving

Remember the part in Little Women when they were about to sit down to a lovely Christmas breakfast, and ended up giving the bulk of it to a needy family?  I think Amy even stated, "Butter is divinity," just before having to wrap it up and giving it to someone else.

I was talking to a dear friend of mine recently who is part of a charitable organization.  She mentioned to me that in some circles, charitable giving is down between 40 and 70%!!  I know that times are difficult, but I also know that it's because times are difficult that we must reach deeper and look for more opportunities to be givers.

Here are some ways to give you may not have thought of:

1) Give the gift of a charitable donation to someone.  According to this Marie Claire article there are several gifts you can buy that give the proceeds to charities.

Just one of the gifts suggested is this Smash Box Palette.  It sells for $45, (although it's a $240 value) and donates a large portion of its profits to The Children's Network.  Check out the rest of the ideas at Marie Claire.

2) I challenge you to spend less money on your own family.  Sit down with your family and explain that you are doing Christmas differently this year.  Tell them to concentrate on one or two gifts that are especially thoughtful rather than 1000 things we don't really need.  I mean, do we really need to have 4000 presents under the Christmas tree?  Why not teach our family the true meaning of Christmas by concentrating on giving rather than receiving?  Have your children help shop for an adopt a child for Christmas program.  We cannot do this only when times are good.  There are more people suffering because of the economy, including us.  There are two charities I'd like to mention for this purpose, Toys For Tots and Samaritan's Purse.

3)  My favorite charity (other than my local church) has always been The Salvation Army.  There are many ways to give.
 a)  I ALWAYS keep all of my change during the Christmas season and NEVER pass a bucket without putting something in.  We all know how much change can collect in the bottom of a purse.  (This is disgusting, but one time I think I had like $10 in change in my purse at once.)
b) Give of your time.  Many times The Salvation Army is looking for volunteers.  They need people to ring those bells, to serve food to the needy, or even just to organize a food pantry.  One time for Thanksgiving my family served dinner at a SA Community Center.  I don't think my children have ever been so grateful on a Thanksgiving.  It was an amazing experience.

4)  Check out my previous blog Shop Small - Shop Locally for some of my favorite ways to stretch my dollar and give back to the community at the same time.


The moral of the story?  It's time to sacrifice a little.  Maybe for some of you it's sacrificing a lot.    Think of all the Christmas stories you admire.  From A Christmas Carol to The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, they always include sacrificial giving.  After all, isn't that how  THE Christmas Story started?  Someone loving the world so much that He gave sacrificially?

If you have suggestions or comments on how to reach out this year, make sure to post in comments!