The holidays are a wonderful time to teach children the spirit of giving. We recently had the opportunity to review a book called The Sparkle Box, which introduced the idea of giving to those in need during the holidays, to our children. You can see the review and book here: The Sparkle Box.
Along with getting into the book with my children, we decided to start filling our own sparkle box. Last week we were invited by friends at Branding Personality, who put together a “Not Your Typical Holiday Party”. Such a great idea, we were invited to visit Co-Work & Play in Fullerton, have a little dinner, spend some time with friends, and most importantly decorate donated gifts that will be going to foster care children.
There were many boxes filled with miscellaneous items from generous sponsors like The Muckenthaler Cultural Center, Payless Shoes, Capri Shoes, Comic Book Hideout, Capstone Studios and Dice House.
The mission of the Foster Care Auxillary of Orange County is to support and retain Orange County licensed foster families and those who Who are providing a permanent home for children in the foster care system.
“The Foster Care Auxiliary of Orange County is a proactive group of foster parents, social workers and community members dedicated to working together to provide high quality care to dependent children, foster parent support, legislative advocacy and continuing education.”
Here are some ideas of how to teach the spirit of giving during the holidays:
- Toy & Canned Food Drives: Children love to shop and pick out their own favorite items. Have them choose a special gift and take it to your local Toy or Canned Food Drive.
- Adopt a Family: You can spread cheer to an entire family who is scraping by. Contact the following agencies to find out how with the links below:
- Military Missions is an organization that collects items, packages, money for postage, etc and sends them to our US Military men and women overseas.
- Contact a local Foster Care or Shelter and arrange your own donation drive/decorating party.
- Have old books or toys that your children are growning out of? We like to donate them to our children’s preschool, local library or even a shelter.
My husband and son chose to grab a gift for an eight-year-old boy. That particular box was chosen by my son, because he was particularly fond of the Lightening McQueen pajamas. I love that they got so crafty with their wrapping.
My princess and I selected a gift for an 18-month-old. I kind of took over the direction of wrapping, figuring the parents would be the one choosing the gift. What do you think I’d our creation?
We certainly enjoyed ourselves that evening, and the kids are ready to select some more toys and clothes to donate this gift giving season.
A special thanks to our friends at Branding Personality for including us in this wonderful event.
