One of the things we try to emphasize a great deal in our home is giving. We want to train our children to not only understand how to be wise in handling money, but we want to instill in them what we believe is one of the greatest purposes for wisely stewarding money: so that we have more to give to others.
In our everyday lives, we are seeking to encourage them to be givers. One of the ways we are doing this is by sponsoring children through Compassion International. 
We read the letters from our sponsored children to them, we walk about the living conditions in other countries, we talk about how much a small amount of money we give can be used for so much good in countries where they have next to nothing and we involve our children in making cards and pictures to send back to our sponsored children.
Yesterday, we made Christmas cards together to send to our sponsored children (yes, I know, they won’t get there until after Christmas, but I figured that the sentiment would still be meaningful!).
After our cards were finished and addressed, it was dark and Jesse was home, so we all loaded up into the van and went to look at Christmas lights. The light displays didn’t seem as plentiful this year, but we still had fun together — and that’s what was most important!
How are you encouraging your children to be givers this Christmas season? I’d love to hear your ideas!
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One of our biggest motivators in paying our car off this year was so we could sponsor a child through compassion. We paid it off in November and I love that our first month to sponsor is the same month we celebrate Jesus’ birth! I’m so very excited to share this blessing and opportunity with our two boys – giving because He gave
Love the cute little redhead your Silas is turning out to be!
This year we gave our sons ages 2 and 5 an amount of money and with that they went and picked out toys and food to donate to the Salvation Army. We told them that Christmas time is for giving, since God gave us His son, and thats the whole reason for Christmas. Next year we are considering adopting a local family for Christmas.
Just wondering if your kitchen table has reached full homeschool status yet. You know, glue that won’t come off, glitter that is forever stuck on the top, pen marks, etc…
My husband was in the military and is now medically retired at the age of 23(that was seven years ago). After everything that happened to him he still to this day(if he could) he would go back in a heartbeat! Him and I have been together for 4 years so I didn’t know him when he was in the military. But after seeing how important it was to him. I started searching for something we could do this Christmas to give back to our troops. We found a site called adoptaplatoon and we adopted a platoon of 35 men. Like my husband alot of the men don’t have family sending them letters and packages and feel alone out there. We explained to our 2 year old that we were sending this to people like Daddy that was in the military. My sons job(he is 2) was to color pictures for these guys. It was so cute everytime he would color a picture he would go and put it in the box. One of the things they asked for was batteries. Thanks to couponing I was able to get them for free PLUS $.03 MONEYMAKER!
We have had such a great time giving to these men. The troops need to know that we will support them to they all come home and what a better way to do it!
The economy has hit our home this year, so instead of donating funds to a charity, we gave our time as a family. We spent an afternoon together volunteering at a local food bank. It was a great experience for all of us.
Each year we make goodie baskets for friends, neighbors, college students that can’t make it home etc…. and a BIG one the volunteers at the fire station. This year we made apple butter, pumpkin bread and buck eyes. Then we put in a basket that we decorate and put thank you cards we make inside. This year we added hot coca packets and hot cider etc. Then we walk the 7 or 8 blocks or so to the fire station with our dog to deliver the basket. We never know who will open the door but they always look amazed to find 2 kids handing then home baked goods.
When we were kids, we always adopted a family for Christmas, gave toys to drives at church, collected hats and scarves for the homeless, or diapers for single moms.
Since my oldest son was born we’ve been purchasing gifts from Children’s Memorial Hospital’s gift shop in Chicago. They have a line of products that feature drawings done by kids. In the past we’ve given shirts, ornaments, Christmas cards, journals and computer mouse pads all featuring thier artwork, the proceeds go to the hospital. When my son was little he was treated there for a blood disorder and it’s really important for us to give back to them and teach our son to be greatful for his health because there are many children that our suffering still.
The hospital has a great deal of donations of presents during the holidays, but it’s the rest of the year that they need toys and games for the patients, which is when I like to donate that stuff!
We too sponsor a child from Compassion International. We have the monthly fee automatically taken out of our check, so we never miss it. We occasionally send extra money for Xmas, birthday, etc. The child we sponsor, Pratama Eka Oswandi, lives in Indonesia. He wrote that he bought a blanket to keep warm when he sleeps on the floor at night. We certainly have a lot to be thankful for! Not only is sponsoring a child a great model for your children, it’s just a wonderful thing to do – I highly recommend it!
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