I want to use this time to teach madison about having a purpose in life, helping other people etc. no matter how bad things are you can always help someone else.. So we picked a simple card off the share tree that we can do/afford. Anyother ideas on this? I though maybe we could make ornaments or something and take them to a retirement home or something.. I want it to be fun and exciting and full of life long lessons. btw she's 7. LOL I sure am asking alot arent I? I just want her to know that she has a purpose here, and helping others is a wonderful part of that purpose in life. So whatcha think?
i think that i'm all ears for the ideas of others as well, because i'm looking for some similar things to do with my 10 year old dd we found out about the christmas child program (y'know, the shoebox thing?) and she wanted to do that, but it was too late (they're done early for shipping reasons)...we're going to do the tree thing too - if you mean what i think you mean... the salvation army here does that where they have a tree with tags that have "girl 8" and "boy 2" and stuff on them and you pick a tag, buy a gift for that age of child and donate it...... my mother works in the manor (i don't think americans use that word... manor = nursing home) and i'm going to ask her if there are ways that we can help there - and hopefully continue, because it's important to give and help others all year round and we've just been all caught up in our own 'stuff' that we've neglected that a lot... i'd love to hear what others do/plan/etc
My older three are going to a special soup kitchen place with their youth group Wednesday to learn about it and to help out. This kitchen runs a back pack program. They have back packs that are filled with sandwiches and other food on Fridays and sent home with children from local schools who have a hard time getting something to eat over the weekends. I hope my kids get to help with that project because we had a foster daughter years ago who never had food on the weekends unless she managed to get invited home with a friend for the weekend. We don't have everything my kids would like to have but we never go hungry. I think seeing this place will really make an impact on them.
I don't think it is ever too early to be an example of what the holidays are really for to your kids. Here are a few things I do and I NEED to add in way more so I look forward to all the respones as well. My dh has a coat drive at work, so we give our old coats and sometimes buy a few more to give away. We make cookies for neighbors and put tracks and notes of encouragement in the tins. We have purchased items for kids who don't get alot of things for christmas. We have an earning system for the kids to get money for Christmas missions. I wanted to get involved with Project Christmas Child....is that the name??? I have a pamphet I will have to get out. You get a shoe box and fill it with simple things kids in 3rd world countries would like or need like school supplies and toothbrushes,etc. Then you drop it off at a church who sends all the boxes overseas. I ended up not doing it last year. I have to see where there is a sending church around here this year.
I received an email to send a card to a veteran at the VA hospitals. This is an address I got in an email A Recovering American soldier c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center 6900 Georgia Avenue,NW Washington,D.C. 20307-5001 I like the nursing home thing as well. What about donating a toy to a child in a local children's hospital. This family is one I follow and last year they in memory of their son they filled is stocking with gift cards for families battling cancer & books to donate to the local children's hospital ...http://www.caringbridge.org/fl/jacob/
You could let her pick out $20 worth of groceries & take her with to donate it to the local food pantry. The two of you could go around the neighborhood collecting things fro the local Homeless Shelter. You could see if a nursing home would allow you both to go visit with the residents (play games, do puzzles, etc.). She could make cards for the Children's wing of the hospital.
