Charity Can Begin At Christmas

The holiday season is once again in full swing, and Christmas is just around the corner. Parents everywhere are preparing to do battle in the toy stores, or online, in order to secure for their children the specific, perfect ingredients for a wonderful Christmas morning.

Let's face it-the toys your child got last year are completely out of fashion this Christmas. There's a whole new array of games and dolls and toys that your child is convinced she can't live without, and which Santa Claus just has to bring her, this Christmas when he comes down the chimney.

And as much as you want to help Santa make your child's Christmas the most special holiday ever, you worry just a little, every year at this time, that by fulfilling all of her Christmas wishes, you will spoil her.

Besides that, there's the matter of space. Where can you possibly store new toys? Last year's crop, along with those from the year before, seem to inhabit every spare corner available. And most of them haven't been played with or touched in months or, in some cases, years.

Wouldn't those toys from last year make wonderful presents for someone else, this Christmas? Charities, such as Goodwill and The Salvation Army, depend on the donations of people just like you and your child to help families in need, at this time of year.

Your child may not fully understand the concept of charity, yet, but she surely understands the feeling that comes from making someone else happy. And she's probably familiar with the song that says that Santa knows when she's been naughty or nice. Making someone else's Christmas a little brighter, you can tell, her, is definitely a way to make Santa Claus's nice-list.

Another way to convince your child of the benefits of recycling those toys she no longer wants is to tell her that Santa needs her help this year. If children like her will donate some of their gently-used toys to charity, then Santa can leave the North Pole with a lighter load on Chrismas Eve. Then, after he leaves new toys for her, he can pick up some of the gently-used toys she's donated, and deliver them to other children who want them.

While she may not be too thrilled, at first, about giving away some of her treasures, the new goodies on Christmas morning will replace them in her heart, eventually. And, hopefully, as you remind her of how her generosity has helped others, the act of giving will become second nature to your child.