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The holiday season is filled with joy, peace, love, and so much generosity. It’s fun to shop for others, wrap all the gifts with pretty holiday paper and ribbon, and just give give give. It warms the heart! I want to model humbleness and giving to others during the holidays in our family. I want to always remind kiddos that between Black Friday and Christmas morning, first comes Thanksgiving, and it’s important to remember to be grateful for all that our family has. Also, to remind them that there are many ways to give to others during the holiday season. We can donate things or donate time by volunteering as a family!
Another thing to be mindful of during the holidays is how much your kiddos receive. If you’re like me, you want to keep more of a minimal home and avoid excess stuff and clutter. (You can check out my post about a practical “less is more” holiday season here) We are always so thankful for anything we receive, but as all parents know, holidays and birthdays are a little overwhelming because kids can be a little too blessed. So much stuff! That being said, keep your shopping lists short and sweet and remind family and friends to do the same. Ask for experience-type gifts or yearly passes to a fun place for the family! Creating a kid’s gift registry or shared holiday wish list can be helpful for others to keep everyone on the same page and to keep the holidays a little more practical. We’ve used the MyRegistry app and shared it with family and we’ve also made Amazon gift registries. There are a lot of options nowadays for gifting apps and different types of wish lists, which is super helpful. The ones we’ve used have helped guide others to give a little more mindfully and minimally, and we’ve appreciated it!
Besides keeping things practical with a wish list for the kiddos, some things our family does during the holidays are using a “Want, Need, Wear, Read” type gift list, putting together holiday donation bins, and choosing some special things as a family to buy and donate. These things help keep the holiday season simple, reduce clutter, and can help to create a heart for giving during the holidays!
The “Want, Need, Wear, Read” list is a helpful way to organize shopping for the kiddos (and anyone!) to keep things simple and practical. If your kids are young, you can do a couple for each category, whatever you think is best to keep the list balanced. If kids are older and want to make their own lists, let them create the lists themselves, but remind them to be mindful to include some things in each category. It can help keep lists from being filled with all toys and playthings. (:
Every holiday season usually comes with receiving more stuff, so… get rid of some stuff first! Make your “spring cleaning” easier by taking some time to go through your things to put together a donation bin. You could do a family donation bin or a bin for each member of the family. (Remember, anything you want to donate should be of nice quality!) This is a great time to clean, organize, update wardrobes, and declutter! Mom and Dad can fill a bin with clothes they don’t wear, home things they no longer want, holiday decor they don’t need, etc. Kiddos can go through the things in their rooms and playrooms and choose items they no longer want or play with. (You’ll have to help young kiddos, of course!) It can be hard for children to get rid of their things, though, so don’t force it, and try to be super patient and understanding. Give them some time to think about it and revisit the donation bin after the idea has been processed. Remember not to get mad or frustrated if kids don’t want to do it. Young kids are still developing their awareness of others and are very egocentric. In their sweet little minds, their things are their things, whether they play with them or not. It’s normal and should be expected! So it’s important to introduce the donation bins with grace, patience, and understanding. They will learn to give by watching their loved ones model giving, even if it takes time. You can try to help kiddos by making the donation bins feel special. You and your kids can say thank you and goodbye to all the things you are donating to help with feelings of sadness. Talk with children about how other kids will be happy to receive the things your family is donating and how much it may help other families. Children love feeling like they are helping, so if you go about the donation bin idea with the right amount of love, grace, and understanding, it can become a yearly thing kiddos may look forward to. Even if your little one only has the heart to add one tiny thing to a donation bin, that’s okay! Let them know that it’s very special and that it was wonderful for them to help donate. (:
Along with the donation bins of gently used things in your home, you can buy new things to donate, as well! I remember they did the Toys for Tots drive at my school every year, and I had a lot of fun choosing a special toy to bring to the drive. Children love feeling like they are helping. We would make a special trip to get the toy and then include a sweet message in a fun card we picked out together. You can have your yearly tradition, too, of being mindful to buy something special to donate to an organization like Toys for Tots or a local place that is special to your family. A toy, a coat, some gloves, etc… anything fun or needed for someone in need. You could even use the “Want, Need, Wear, Read” outline. Every year you could choose at least one fun toy that’s wanted, something needed like a warm blanket or a goodie bag of essentials (women’s products, deodorant, first-aid, etc.), something to wear like a quality pair of socks or underwear (visit Bombas.com), and something to read like an awesome children’s book. You can also model giving as a family by volunteering your time! Check out your local shelters, charities, and non-profit organizations for some ideas on what is needed and learn how you can help where you live. (:
I’m excited to continue these holiday traditions with our family! Simple and easy ways to keep things minimal around the holidays and to remember to always be grateful and giving!
As always, thanks for reading! Happy holidays from our family to yours!
Lots of love,
Anna
