I have to tell you, I love the Thanksgiving weekend because it is a time to celebrate with family and friends giving thanks for all that you have, right?! Charity. It is time to do some of the things that are FREE and don’t cost anything that people remember the most. Like yesterday.
I went to an annual open house at a local nursery where every year they host a Holiday Open House. Their greenhouses are FULL of poinsettias. So many, in fact, it is a sea of red!!! I felt like Frosty the Snowman ( but I didn’t melt)! I realized it was a thing like this that gives me warm fuzzies at Christmas! then the thought of charity popped into my head! And then I thought, WOW! it really is the small, financially insignificant things at Christmas that mean so much more and last so much longer. It’s the little things that over time mean so much. Touching people’s hearts. As I grow older, I realize the responsibility of charity. Yes, money is important. I get that! But every year it gets more and more costly to buy the same things over and over……all to be discarded and lost in the days and weeks to come. Memories are with us forever.
It’s that time of year when you get together to catch up, eat, nap and generally wind down a bit. It is also the start of two very powerful phenomenons: giving and spending.
Both can be very rewarding. Spending is so easy; not much effort goes into how much we spend this holiday season. “According to eMarketer, Americans likely will spend $1.002 trillion from Nov. 1 to Dec. 31. … “~ Quartz stated in an article written earlier this month. That’s alot of money. And charitable people, organizations, and entities need money. But that is not what I am talking about.
Kinda crazy, don’t you think? I just love the start of the holiday season because I get to cook for people I love, spend time with them and start revving up for Christmas mania! Not so much the money part of it! But the being togetherness, tradition-keeping (or making new ones!), annual fun-ness of the season! 
Not the presents under the tree, not what did he or she give me and certainly not the amount of money to spend. It is the charity of the season. I LOVE the SEASON and the PEOPLE and the GIVING the most! The Grinch even realized this! It wasn’t about what was under the tree.
A friend of mine was telling me about what she does for her grandchildren (she has 14!) each year as we were swapping ideas for the season. She and her husband take the kids early one morning around the neighborhood in the back of a pickup, (VERY SLOWLY) caroling. Then, they all come back to their house and have chili. After that, it is off to the local food back where they help in the creation and delivering of hundreds of Christmas dinners to those less fortunate. One of the children who was about eight at the time, took her hand and said, “Grandma, this isn’t fun.” her reply was priceless. She got down to his eye level and said “it’s not supposed to be fun. Sometimes, things in life aren’t supposed to always be fun. But there are things that we need to do to help others. That’s how we give back. And it’s important to give back.”
After that it was off the the local roller rink for rollerskating, then back to their home where they have giant candy bars gift wrapped for each of the kids with a $10 bill wrapped on it!
At the end of the day, everyone is totally exhausted, but again and again, they have created great memories together! And while some of the activities cost a bit, it’s not what was the forefront of moment. It is giving and people and moments where the kids forgot about themselves and thought of others. Time spent together is had and even though the children don’t realize it now, they will someday.
I was so impressed by this story I just had to share it with you! giving is what we are about. It is not about the getting, getting,getting. It is about the GIVING. It is who we are as human beings builds you up while lifting others. And, it is the only thing I know of that can bring such satisfaction that you will want that feeling again and again! And, the only thing giving really requires is YOU!
I am going to encourage you to reach out and give this season, create something new. Look for the no cost or low cost this season and spend more time with those you love. If they are not close, reach out and make yourself available to those who you CAN make a difference for this season, I encourage you all to make the season about others. Not yourself. Just give. That’s all. Look at giving this holiday not giving. That really is the reason for the season after all!