I hate people who don't update for weeks at a time.
Anyhow, Happy Thanksgiving. Now it is time to hang the Christmas lights and shop 'til I drop! But I have promised myself that this year, I am going to be generous where it counts; I will be generous and unselfish with time, and I will have a lot of patience with my mother when it's time to clean her house before any sisters arrive in town. I am not, however, going to be generous to a fault when purchasing gifts. This is like my New Year's Resolution a month early. It will be hard, but I am not going to overspend just because I'm worried about whether I got each person "enough." My family has a terrible habit of over-spending and over-giving for no good reason. It's ridiculous to spend as much money as we do for many reasons, including but not limited to: it's hard for several family members to transport gifts they give and receive, it's gluttonous and wasteful to give and receive gifts for and from people who already have so much, and it's financially irresponsible to go into debt every December. So, I am setting my limits and although I will feel like I'm somehow slighting people, I'm sticking to it.
Lastly, Mike and I are committed to donating toys and gifts to charity in lieu of over-purchasing for our families. I bought a good quality set of building blocks for a needy child, but I researched our local Community Center that houses, trains and employs previously homeless families, and they distribute gifts to the children in those families. They have a lot of adolescents and teenagers who usually don't receieve gifts because it's more fun for people to donate toys, so Mike and I are determined to give something that can ge given to a teen. So far, I've thought of a new backpack and perhaps art supplies. And for girls, makeup and maybe hair stuff. Any suggestions?
1 comment:
Hi Sabrina, What a great idea about donating gifts to a local charity. At work, our unit "adopts a family" every year at christmas - we get the ages and whether the child is a boy or girl and organize the event so that the everyone can become involved. we did it for the last 3 years - it gives you such a good feeling - I have been amazed that no once, was there a thank you of any kind for the family. This year we chose to collect monetary donations and we will be giving to the Salvation Army wich is a local charity. They do supply food to the needy at Thanksgving and Christmas so the families will not go hungry. Another idea for a gift - maybe go to Claire's for some accessories - teenage girls always like those and they're not that expensive there. Talk to you soon.
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