It’s December, time for the annual Christmas Gift Balancing Act to begin! Every year it’s the same struggle. On one side there are my children, expecting all these great presents (that Santa magically brings at seemingly no cost to anyone). On the other side, there is me, trying to instill an appreciation for gift giving that will last much longer than that new doll or truck Santa brought.
Knowing I can’t be the only mom in Scottsdale facing this challenge, I now share with you three ideas that help my children to understand the joy that comes with giving and not just receiving presents.
1) Giving gifts to each other. At my house, sometime after Thanksgiving, we will all take a trip to Hallmark. Every year the girls pick out one special ornament to give to the other. They NEVER are able to keep the secret of what they bought each other. But the joy of opening the ornament each Christmas morning is so special. I write the recipient’s initials and the year in sharpie on the bottom of the ornaments. Someday, I see boxing up each child’s ornaments for them to use on their Christmas tree when they have a family of their own (my heart just broke a little writing that part).
2) Making gifts for others. A few years ago, I wrote a blog post about our annual holiday gift-making tradition (you can read it here). Basically, we make one small gift or ornament for the children’s grandparents and god parents. I started using Pinterest to find these great ideas for them to make. I think it is more personal to have the children make these gifts for our relatives. 
And I hope it is means more to receive a handmade gift from the kids, then say, another Starbucks gift card.
3) Helping Others. We also make a point of buying toys and clothes for children in need. It would be WAY EASIER for me to purchase these items and send them of while the kids are in school. But I find that if they are included in the process of shopping for the child in need, they understand why giving to those less fortunate is so important. And this brings up questions that they need to learn in order to (in my opinion) become compassionate adults.
