Christmas giving

or 90. Sponsor a family at Christmas

My sisters and I decided that this year instead of buying gifts for our parents we would sponsor a family instead. For a number of years my mom has been talking about an article she gave us that came from The Globe and Mail or Macleans or something about a couple who asked their grown children to do something for someone else instead of buying them gifts at Christmas. On Christmas morning they received a letter from each of their kids explaining what they did.

I told Alex what we were doing and we decided that we would do the same for his parents, which meant we were able to spend more to help the family that we were paired with. We also decided that instead of spending money on gifts for some of our friends, we'd use it for this family (and they all thought that was a great gift...none of them felt like they were missing out on more stuff)

We were paired with a single mom with a daughter the same age as J. We had requested a family with a child close to J's age so that we could explain to her what we were doing and maybe she'd understand better the importance if the child was her age.

I spoke to the mom before we did any shopping and I was blown away by her greatfulness for our help and at that point all she'd received from us was a phone call. We wanted to make sure there was a gift for her too and when I asked her if there was anything she needed or wanted, she told me no, that her daughter needed to be taken care of first. I haven't been in her situation, but I understand looking after your child before yourself. I would immediately give up whatever I had to if it meant J was warm and fed and dressed. She did eventually say that a $5 or $10 gift certificate to one of two stores would be wonderful. We ended up getting her a larger gift certificate from one of the stores and some pampering stuff.

Rebecca picked up a gift for the little girl from the store where she works and J had a great time helping me choose pjs and slippers for the little girl. She was a bit perplexed about why the little girl needed pjs. After a discussion about how not everybody is as lucky as we are and sometimes it is very hard for mommies and daddies to buy new things for their kids, she had a better grasp of the whole thing - she told me "I a little bit sad that little girl no be lucky like me."

The day we dropped the things off, the four of us spent the morning at the grocery store choosing all of the groceries. We were paired with our family through the Salvation Army and they provide a list of suggested groceries, which was certainly helpful. J knew where we were going and helped carry a bag into the house. The little girl was napping when we got there and J was a bit upset she didn't get to take her coat off and play a little bit.

As we left, the mom gave us a card, thanking us for everything. We sat in the car before we left, recovering from the emotional impact the morning had on us. It was very overwhelming and when we walked into the suite, we were all moved...

Christmas day we gave the card from the family to my parents and they were thrilled that we had decided to help a family in need as our gift to them. My dad told us it was the best gift he'd ever received.

And you know, while it was a gift that we gave, it was probably also one of the best Christmas gifts I have ever received. I was reminded of the simple things, the gratitude the family expressed was genuine and huge, and we gave my parents something meaningful.

This is definitely something we'll be doing again.