Holiday Giving vs. Entitlement

12.04.09

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all my friends! I hope this season finds you well, and in good health.

I’ve been thinking a lot about entitlement and money lately. It seems that my child, and a lot of children, are dreaming of what they will get on Christmas. I want to instill a spirit of giving, not just getting, and I’ve found a few things that work well:

• Set up a Holiday spending, monetary budget for your child: maybe as low as $1 per person for gifts. It’s really not about the price tag, it’s about thinking what the other person might like to receive. Thankfully, at her school, they’ve set up a Holiday Gift Shopping experience, complete with a budgetary envelope, with space allowing you to list the recipient’s name and the amount your child can spend per person.
• Additionally, we signed up to serve as a family. We are spending some time with our friends from church to sing Christmas Carols at a local nursing home.
• Additionally, our church is doing a food distribution from the donated food and coats being collected, and people come to receive these items. We signed up to do this together as a family, complete with our parents who are visiting from out of state.
• Also, the gifts we did purchase for family are “Fair Trade” items. This way, the artisans, or workers will receive a fair income for their work, and I feel it helps others, as we purchase these gifts. To see some fair trade items, visit this website: http://www.tradeasone.com

Thanks for reading! Please let me know if I can be of service to you!

Jaril Faith Gallup, LCSW