Teach Your Kids the Gift of Giving
November 23, 2006
Christmas traditions and celebrations date back to over 4,000 years ago, according to holidays.net, an online resource for holiday celebration information. And many were celebrated centuries before Christ was born. The 12 days of Christmas, the bright fires, the Yule log, the giving of gifts, parades with floats, carolers who sing while going from house to house, the holiday feasts, and the church processions can all be traced back to the early Mesopotamians.
Today, parents still celebrate some of those same Christmas traditions with their families amid the fun and excitement of exchanging gifts. Parents can instill lessons of humility and selflessness in their children by reinforcing the idea that it is often more rewarding to give than it is to receive. This will help to create new Christmas traditions that can be passed down throughout generations.
The following are some ideas that can help parents get started with creating some family traditions of their own.
GIFT GIVING
Encourage family members to create gifts themselves, in addition to the ones that they purchase. You can find books that are full of homemade gift ideas at the library or bookstore -- especially in the children's section. Your kids will take pride in their gifts if they've spent time and energy in creating them.
Or set up a Secret Santa gift exchange among family members. Since your children probably don't have much money, allow them to focus their efforts and funds on one person. Draw names out of a hat, but tell them to keep their name assignments a secret. You can expand a Secret Santa exchange to include service. Tell your children to do something in secret for their person each day: make a bed without being noticed, stick a note in a lunchbox, iron a shirt, etc.
For neighbors and friends, give plates of homemade cookies and fudge. Choose an evening close to Christmas (or an entire day if you're really gung ho) and have the children help you make and frost sugar cookies, bake fruit breads or stir fudge. Then assemble paper plates with a variety of your goodies, wrap and deliver them with Christmas cards. Your kids will love taking turns running up to your neighbors' doors to deliver them. If your family enjoys singing, deliver your plates of treats on your Christmas caroling route.
SERVING OTHERS
Opportunities abound for serving others, and making service a family tradition at Christmastime can help your children develop lifetime habits of service.
Adopt a family through a local agency (Red Cross, county welfare programs, etc.). The agency will provide you with the names and ages of the family members you choose to "adopt." Sometimes, they'll even give you a wish list to guide your purchases. Take your children with you when you shop for this family and have them help you wrap and deliver the gifts. Your children will learn how wonderful it feels to sacrifice some of their own gifts for others.
A nursing home is a wonderful place to visit during the holidays. Your children will lift the spirits of the residents simply by being themselves. Take small gifts or candy canes to distribute. If your children play musical instruments or like to sing, put on a show at a local nursing home. Call the nursing home ahead of time to schedule an appropriate time to perform.
DECORATING
Christmas decorations not only brighten homes, they also remind you of past Christmases and happy memories. The following decorating ideas can easily become family traditions.
Encourage your children to make a special Christmas tree ornament each year, replete with their names and year (i.e. Victoria 2005). Every year, when you decorate the tree, they will be proud of their contributions.
Spend an evening during Thanksgiving weekend making a gingerbread house, and continue to do so each year. Take pictures of each gingerbread house and keep a Christmas memory scrapbook. The kids will love looking back at all of their gingerbread houses and remembering each year's construction.
Don't be a dark spot in your neighborhood. Brighten up the season with Christmas lights, and involve your children in putting them up on the inside and outside of your home. Drive around the neighborhood, looking at all the lights.
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