Five ways to infuse your family with the spirit of generosity this Christmas

1. Give experiences. Gifts do not always need to come in the form of material possessions. Giving experiences can be of value as well. This can include time with caregivers, such as a set of tickets that children can “turn in” to bake together, do arts and crafts, go skating, swimming, hiking or to a movie or the theater. These experiences are also opportunities to discuss the value of family connection and making memories.

2. Give to those in need. Discuss the legend of Saint Nicholas (Santa Claus) and his spirit of giving to those who are less fortunate. Encourage children to add a gift to someone in need to their Christmas or birthday wish list, or to give used or unused material possessions (such as toys, books or clothing) to those without.

3. Give without expecting anything in return. The core concept of generosity is to give without conditions. Show children that being charitable is unconditional. Several reputable local, national and international organizations have charitable gift-giving programs for children in need (for example, providing water purification tablets and school supplies).

4. Give the gift of time. Together with your children, come up with a list of ways they could give their time to someone else. This could be shoveling someone’s driveway, weeding a neighbors garden or cleaning up his or her local park. They could also give their time to an organization in need of volunteers (for example a soup kitchen).

5. Give year round. Generosity and kindness shouldn’t just happen over the holidays. Make these concepts part of your everyday family life and try to schedule acts of kindness together. At the dinner table, ask your children: “Can you tell me a time today you showed kindness?” You can also talk about how, as a parent, you showed kindness or generosity to someone in your professional or personal life that day. Giving gifts is certainly part of being generous, but as we all know, the holidays can also be a time of stress and panic about getting the right gift, navigating the shopping mania in stores, and frankly, just paying for everything. All is not lost, however — there are other narratives parents can use around kids when it comes to generosity.

(From The Conversation, December, 2019)