Teach your kids the importance of giving back during the busy holidays with 10 Ways Families Can Give Back This Holiday Season. This post is sponsored by SunTrust. All festive opinions are my own
10 Ways Families Can Give Back This Holiday Season
STUFF. If there’s one thing that I know that my children have, it’s stuff. With the holidays around the corner, I’m already feeling the pulse of my kids’ desires for the latest toy, all paired with familiar words like “want” and “need.” My kids hearts are better than that.
That’s why I always take the time to teach my kids the importance of giving back, especially during the holidays. So today, I’m preparing my heart with 10 Ways Families Can Give Back This Holiday Season. Hopefully these giving ideas will inspire you and your family.
Write Thank You Cards
Spreading kindness through an old-fashioned handwritten note. I cannot tell you how beautiful a written thank you card can be. The holidays is the perfect time to reach out to that special person that has worked in your life through the year and surprise them with words of kindness.
Donate
This is an area where the kids rarely fight me on. In fact, they love the idea of donating – old toys, clothes, food, toiletries and more – it’s the perfect time to give back in a tangible way that kids can understand. “Because there are kids that don’t have toys” my son reminds me. That makes his little giving heart even bigger as he finds the perfect toys that would make other kids happy.
Volunteer at a Soup Kitchen
Giving your time can mean the difference during the holidays. I think it’s so important for my family to be IN the moment with the less fortunate – to see what is going on outside of our family bubble.
Give to Your Favorite Charity
There are always charities that are close to our hearts throughout the year. But as soon as the holidays roll around, we have the desire to give and give generously. Let your kids be involved in the giving process, by letting them choose the charity, understand the charity mission and see exact how your family donation is making a difference.
Help a Neighbor
There’s no motivation like the holidays to bring neighbors closer together. Whether helping to decorate the house, cleaning up a yard, wrapping gifts together or even borrowing that cup of sugar, choose the holidays as a way to be more “neighborly” to those around you.
Buy Gifts that Give Back
It’s a win-win. You have a special someone on your holiday gift list that gets a thoughtful gift and you give a percentage of the sales back to a worthy cause. I always am searching for ways that my gift purchase can stretch and do more, and gifts that give back definitely motivate me to purchase.
Bake and Share Cookies
My kids LOVE baking cookies. And even more than eating them, they love sharing their freshly made baked goods with our family, friends and neighbors. It’s just a simple way that we can love on our loved ones during the holidays – and it’s a perfect family activity!
Visit a Local Police/Fire Station/Hospital
As a former nurse, there’s nothing more gratifying than the thanks received during the holidays. Taking the time to thank our everyday heroes (many who don’t get the holidays off) is a great way for your family to show appreciation for those amazing men and women.
Carol with Your Family
Love to sing? Organize a caroling group! Grab your family and your favorite holiday tunes to surprise a doorstep with cheer!
Give Presence
That’s right, YOU are the present. Your presence – whether it’s with family members, a lonely friend, or even a complete stranger can make a huge impact this holiday season. SunTrust can help. Rethinking how you spend your money and your time can help you feel less stressed so that you can give your presence this holiday season with open arms.
So this holiday season SunTrust’s onUp movement is providing you with tools: from expert advice to family budget worksheets so you can make the most of this holiday season with your family.
Head over to the SunTrust onUp website to get started on ways that you can Rethink Holiday Generosity with less stress and more focus on the things that matter most. And spread the love this holiday season with more ways families can give back.
How is your family giving back this holiday season? When is a time when giving back was really special?
At SunTrust Bank their purpose is lighting the way to financial well-being. When you feel confident about your money, you can save for your goals and spend knowingly on what matters most to you.
The onUp movement was created to guide millions of people one step at a time towards a more financially confident life without ever losing sight of the moments that matter along the way.
Join the growing number of people transforming their stress into positive motivation to move onUp.
Join the movement
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of SunTrust. The opinions and text are all mine.
Be sure to follow Raising Whasians for our family moments, recipes, crafts, travel & more.
