Striving for Simplicity: Part 3

click here for Part 1

With the holiday season upon us, there is not a better time to evaluate what is really important and what we truly need. I am continually looking for ways to teach my children the importance of giving back and being grateful for what we have.

This brings to mind, Megan and Lucy’s birthdays last February. They were fortunate to have a big joint birthday party at Pump it Up with 22 friends. I knew this would be the last year that I would be able to have their birthday party together as their interests and friends are changing. I had asked them if they would rather have a smaller party with a few friends that bring presents or a big party with all of their friends. They both agreed that a big party with all their friends would be really fun.

Next came the trickier part. Did they need 22 gifts? No. Not with gifts from us, generous grandparents and aunt and uncles. I knew they would still get to open plenty of presents and I do understand that presents are a very big deal to children. I wasn't going to take that away from them.

What to do? With perfect timing I heard about Hope Ministries, a homeless shelter for Women and Children in Des Moines. After talking with the children's director, she mentioned that the children at the shelter love doing crafts, but didn't get to do a lot of them because most of the donations are for food, clothing and supplies.

This was perfect! Megan and Lucy love art projects and I knew they would be able to relate to the importance of kids needing to be creative. On their birthday invitation, the girls asked for craft supplies such as construction paper, scissors, stickers, glue…in lieu of birthday gifts. I asked for the guests to bring the supplies in unwrapped so they didn’t even appear like birthday gifts in case a change of heart ensued. ;-) I got a lot of comments from parents how it had been a teachable moment for their own children in helping them pick out a suitable art supply.

The day we took the art supplies to the homeless shelter, I don't think I have ever been prouder of my kids. They were only four and six years old and as they laid out all of their donations on the table, I didn’t hear a single question on why they were giving away all of these things or how they really wanted to keep some. They were beaming. They understood that they have so much and how little these kids had.

The staff there brought in cupcakes with candles and sang Happy Birthday to Lucy and Megan. It was an unforgettable moment. They got it. They understood giving. The trickier part is, helping them understand that this can happen in day to day situations; not just birthdays and holidays. We need to do more giving and serving as a family. I am continuing to look for ideas.

click here for part 4