Christmas is the season of giving, right? It can, however, also be the season where everything becomes a little too hectic and you lose sight of what’s important.
The Brainy One and I give to charity all year-round and have done since we were first married. This year, so many more people are in need of extra support and we’ve thought a great deal about how best we might be able to help.
Here are four ways we’re embracing the season of giving:
- Donating money and dry foodstuffs to a food bank. We donate cash to the food bank where our brother-in-law is a trustee and cooker of Christmas lunch for 50+ homeless people, and we donate a basket of groceries at our local supermarket.
- Donating a Christmas gift to a charity local to us and filling a shoe box for Operation Christmas Child.
- We’ve supported the Metropolitan Police’s Christmas Appeal again this year. We bought gift vouchers to donate to a teen the same age as The Boy.
- Donating a pint of blood. Supplies often run low over the Christmas and New Year period, so maybe consider donating a pint as a Christmas gift to yourself. I’m donating early in the New Year. British readers can find out more here.
This West London Life 
Thank you for all the good you do. I give monthly to two charities, the monthly donation is essential for charities to plan ahead and I have no intention of ever stopping these donations, however poor this government makes me!!
Every Christmas I choose a charity to donate to, in lieu of buying a gift for himself and he to me. This year I am unsure where to give, so many people in so much need, but I think the local food Bank will be my choice, it’s hard to think of people being hungry in our own country.
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I know that more and more are finding these times tougher than they ever expected and I think those who are able to contribute should do exactly that.
The rise in numbers using Food Bank is terrifying, we are donating as often as we can.
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Very wise words of encouraging us to remember others. We have two charities that we give to, one is for people & one is for animals.
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I am a “small s” socialist, helping others is the right thing to do.
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We always contribute to the Reverse Advent Calendar collection at our local food bank – where you put aside one item a day for 24 days in November and then hand over the hamper at the beginning of December. The items they collect are all the non perishables that a family would need for Christmas meals. We contribute all year to this local charity but this is a lovely idea to ensure that everyone can enjoy a nice meal or two with a few extra luxuries.
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That is such a great idea! Which supermarket do you use?
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I mostly use Tesco for my ‘big shop’ but also use Waitrose if I’m in town and want to take advantage of their 90 minute free car parking!
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I shall have to keep an eye out for the Reverse Advent next year.
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Great ideas, and so important to care for our fellow human beings … I’m going to think in the New Year about how to be more active in this.
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I do think it is important to share what we have, if we are able to do so.
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