Christmas can be a challenging time to be a parent. 

A Bit About The Spirit of Giving

Before we dive right into examining some tips to teach the spirit of giving, we'll need to explore exactly what this is. We've broken down a few important points below.

What is the spirit of giving?

The spirit of giving means knowing there there are people out there less fortunate than yourself who need help. It also means that you focus your mind more on giving to other people, as opposed to receiving from other people. The spirit of giving is something great that all children should learn from a young age because it is such a wonderful thing. 

Why is the spirit of giving important?

The spirit of giving is important because it teaches children the importance of giving to others in their time of need. It also helps children to not always expect things, and to be good people with kind hearts. The spirit of giving should live within all of us because we should all understand that there are people out there who need our help. This especially applies around the holiday season, when people often need help more than ever. 

How to Teach Children The Spirit of Giving

Step 1 - Talk to your children about giving to others

Discuss ways in which your family can give to others during the Christmas season. Allow your children to ask questions and to give their own ideas on how the family can help give to others. Talking is a great way to help children learn about new things. 

Allow your children the opportunity to have any questions they have answered. It can be hard to discuss with your children about people who may be less fortunate than yourselves, because they often don't understand. However, if you give them that opportunity to ask questions, they can learn all about the different ways of living and why it is important to give, especially during the holiday season. 

Spend a night chatting to your children about all the different ways of living and all of the reasons why it is important for us to give - especially around the holiday season. 

Step 2 - Donate clothing and toys to a shelter or a local charity.

At Christmas time, your children will receive lots of nice new things. So it's a great time to go through your children's things and have a bit of a sort out. Help your children choose which items they want to keep, and which items they want to donate to others. 

Allow your children to come with you when you drop the items off at your local collection organisation. That way, your children will be able to see their things being given to the good cause. The act of giving their own personal items away allows children to learn more about the spirit of giving. 

Not only does this donating some of their things give your children a sense of what it is like to give, it also frees up plenty of room in their bedrooms for all of the new gifts that they are due to receive at Christmas time. 

Step 3 - Do some volunteer work as a family 

Take some time this holiday season to help out others by volunteering as a family. It doesn't have to be anything super extravagant. Think of some small things that your children can take part in around the neighbourhood. 

Perhaps an elderly neighbour needs some leaves raking up or they need some snow removing from their driveway. You children can volunteer their time helping our your neighbours. 

A further idea would be to volunteer at a local soup kitchen, or perhaps visit a nearby nursing home to spend time with the elderly residents and talk with them. There are many things that you can do with your children as a family that would be a great help to others. 

Step 4 - Let your children help with choosing gifts

Allow your children to help with the process of buying gifts for family members, friends and teachers. This act of planning what to get for other people helps to take the focus off what they're going to get for themselves. Children can often be tied up waiting for the things they want to arrive on Christmas day, however this method of helping buy gifts for others can shift their focus form that onto the happiness of others. 

Take some time to sit down with your children and make a list of some gift ideas that you could get for other family members based on their interests. Your children will love coming up with unique gift ideas and they will have a lot of fun trying to find just the right gifts for each of their friends, family members and their teachers. They will also love being able to say "i chose that" when the recipient opens their gift Christmas morning. 

Step 5 - Make something homemade to deliver to your neighbours

Bake some cookies or cakes or make some homemade ornaments. Your children will love getting involved in the creating process and will love seeing the joy on people's faces when it comes to delivering the items. 

Allow your children to personally deliver the items to your neighbours. This will allow them to engage in conversations with your neighbours and will allow them the reward of seeing how happy the gift makes them. 

Not only is this great for teaching your children the importance of giving, but it is also a great way for your and your children to bond more during the holiday season. 

6. Give to local organisations

Take your children along with you and donate some money to a local organisation such as a church or a homeless shelter. Spend time talking to your children about the different organisations that you can give to and allow them to decide where they want to make a donation. 

This will help your children to learn all about non-profit organisations and will give them the chance to be able to feel what it feels like to donate to a good cause. 

Your children will learn all about the value of giving to good causes and they will also learn more about different types of organisations that need money in order to survive. 

7. Give to a worldwide cause

Local charities and organisations are not the only organisations out there that need a little help around the holiday season. There are thousands of worldwide charities in need and you and your children can get involved in donating to them. 

Giving to those in need in different countries allows you the opportunity to talk to your children about the many issues around the globe. Your children can learn how they can make a difference in the world by helping out these worldwide organisations. 

Talk to your children about some of the different organisations around the world and what they do to make a difference. Also explain to your children why each organisation is important. That way, your children can then decide which cause they would like to get behind, and which one they would like to donate to. 

We hope that this list of tips on how to teach your children the spirit of giving has inspired you in some way today.