Teaching Kids to Give Back this Holiday Season

This post was created in partnership with Stonyfield. As always, all opinions are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands we love!

Let me guess, your Holiday To-Do list is about a 100 miles long (and counting) and all you really want to do is curl up into a ball on your couch and watch The Holiday while eating homemade Spritz cookies? What…just me? Promise me you won’t give up on the holiday craziness just yet. We can totally do this together.

While this time of year often feels like it’s entirely about making trip after trip to the store to find the perfect gift for everyone on your list, we often forget that, aside from all the shopping, giving is actually is the best part. While I don’t love waiting in long lines (does anyone?), I do love searching for unique gifts. There’s something about that look on someone’s face when you’ve given them the perfect gift. You just can’t replicate that feeling. Of course, that magical feeling is magnified tenfold when you’ve given a gift to someone who truly needs it.

Let’s make the 2016 holiday season all about giving back. What better example could we set for our kids?

Here are a few fun and easy ways to teach even the littlest of littles all about Paying it Forward:

1. Donate to a Pantry: Take this opportunity to reorganize and clear out your shelves. We recently helped a friend by donating some baby food and snacks to a drive at her son’s school. Teachable Moment: I had Harper help me pack the bag of food. She may not have known what she was doing, but she knew she wasn’t going to get to eat it. Older kids can help pick out items from the pantry to donate.

2. Make a Wishlist with Meaning: When kids are old enough, it can be so fun to have them create their holiday wishlist. Until then, try using these questions as a guide when shopping. They can pick out the “thing to donate” from their own ever-growing toy stash, or even pick out something new at the store. Teachable Moment:

• 1 Thing They Want
• 1 Thing They Need
• 1 Thing to Donate
• 1 Thing to Read 

3. Support Local Charities: This year I was given the opportunity to donate $50 from Stonyfield to my favorite charity. I knew immediately that I wanted to give my donation to our local chapter of The Boys & Girls Club in order to help them fulfill some of the items on their wishlist. As a former teacher, I know the importance of this organization in high-poverty areas where this may be the only safe place for kids to play or do homework after school. Teachable Moment: If kids are old enough, find out ways your whole family can volunteer with a local charity. Even young kids can understand and appreciate the act of dropping off supplies, gifts, or food to those in need.

What ways are you and your family planning to give back this holiday season? Share below! I’d love to get some more ideas!