Giving…

Just over a week ago we had Black Friday, followed by Cyber Monday. Relatively new to the series is Giving Tuesday. There are many charities that get organizations matching donations from the “regular” people. With the topic I wrote about last weekend, Support - Giving and Needing, I got thinking about the month of December and the “Season of Giving”. December is a major fundraising time. It’s one of the opportunities for charities to get people when they’re in a positive frame of mind. It’s when people tend to see their own blessings and want to give to those who have less.

So, from those thoughts came this blog. And yes, this weekend I’m writing about charitable giving. That doesn’t necessarily mean monetary donations, as I’m about to share in my own musings. Money is essential for many charities and I do not discount that need. One of my favourite ways to give is through angel trees. They abound at this time of year to ensure that all children receive something. My mom is my hero, especially when talking about angel trees. She always supports and she’s got me doing something similar to her. She always looks for a teenager on the tree. Why? Because everyone always wants to buy for the little kids or the babies. The “fun” stuff. She’s very cognizant of the teenagers who are the last to be chosen off the tree and will always choose that age group first. It’s worn off on me as I now do that, too.

Food banks often find themselves desperate at this time of year. They have the regular families that they are supporting and they have the desire to give them a holiday meal that so much of this season surrounds. Everywhere you look in grocery stores, advertisements, and commercials talk about the appetizers, turkey or ham, all the fixings and the desserts that we strive to provide for our family and friends. Imagine seeing all of that while you are going hungry yourself. Of course, food banks want to be able to give something special to those in need. I recently read an interesting comment about giving food to food banks and I thought it was such a great reminder. It was about giving macaroni and cheese and how milk and better are needed to make it. How canned goods are wonderful IF you can open the cans and how a can opener would be so appreciated. It talked about what a treat sugar and flour are so that items can be made from scratch. It reminded me of the years when my son was young and we would donate a holiday meal to our local church’s hamper program. I didn’t have a lot of extra money in those days so we always chose a single person or senior off our hamper list. We would always include a little extra that wasn’t included in the shopping list: festive napkins, a nice dessert, and a Christmas card from our house to theirs. It didn’t break my bank and it gave us a great feeling to shop for the meal and know that we were giving someone a smile.

Of course, there are lots of charities who collect money at this time of year. There are all those Salvation Army helpers with their Santa kettles in malls and stores. I swear, I start carrying a few bills just so that I don’t feel bad passing them by. I noticed today that they now have a way to receive an Interac “tap” payment. They have been part of the charitable season of giving for decades now - just watch any old Christmas movie and you’ll see them represented in some fashion!

Okay, that’s a quick look at the monetary side of giving. But that’s far from the only way to contribute to the season of giving. I have a friend who is constantly giving her time to her community. There are so many different ways in which she volunteers. She “works” at her local arena, her church, her children’s sports activities (and I have another friend who is always volunteering for her son’s sports) and on and on. Volunteering time could be driving someone to an appointment or working at a mission and serving a meal. That has almost become “sexy” volunteering. Many people want that to be their experience of volunteering - maybe because you see the need being met right in front of you. Everyone’s time is valuable so when you give it in service to others, it’s a true gift.

What I’ve been thinking about are the gifts that we are given in so many other ways and in the gifts that we give to others. It’s so easy to give to our friends. We enjoy finding the perfect thing for each person. We excitedly wrap them up and make them look pretty. But how easy is it to give to those we don’t know? Or perhaps to those we don’t really like? How about a smile when you pass someone on the street? You may have no idea what they are going through. It might be they seem distance or disagreeable. Your smile may be the one glimmer of good that they encounter in the day. And what you probably will never see is the impact of that smile. A smile can be the gift of kindness and especially at a time of year that can be so cold physically, that smile can warm a day.

We are expecting upwards of 20 cm of snow overnight tonight. That’s a lot of snow in one storm. That much snow means windrows at the ends of driveways, after the plow has gone by. If it stays as humid as it is right now, that means very heavy snow. Shovelling at your neighbour’s house is one of the greatest gifts you can give. I know this, because I have the most incredible neighbours. I’ve often “come up for air” after hours of meetings only to look out and see that they’ve beat me to my driveway. Knowing that I can get my car out if necessary without the chore of shovelling is incredibly kind. But that works both ways. While I may not be as quick as they are, I’ve definitely tried to help them out as well. But those are my neighbours and we know and like each other. What about the senior down the block or the grumpy guy around the corner? What if we start helping those that we don’t know or don’t get warm fuzzies from? Isn’t that an even greater gift?

What about dropping off a basket of baked goods to someone down the street when you’re baking up a storm for Christmas? I always sign up to bake when my church is hosting a bake sale. This past week was another week of working and baking in preparation for the annual Christmas bake sale. Each time I offer, I question my sanity as the date gets closer. This past week was no exception. It’s not that I begrudge the time or the cost of the ingredients. It’s that I never go small. I’m always baking too much. To be honest, when I drop them off, the thought usually crosses my mind of whether I could have done more. I’m not a salesperson and never sign up to “work” the sale. On bake sale day, I do harbour a few feelings of guilt for not helping but I remind myself that I’ve given what I can.

And I think that’s the most important thing. When you give what you can, you give a lot. Whatever you give - time, money, food, love, smiles, a helping hand. It’s all worth it.

This past weekend we had our Christmas celebration in the village. It’s an incredible array of events that all take place over the course of one day, the first Saturday in December. It’s truly amazing. It starts bright and early with Breakfast with Santa at 8am and goes until the lighting of the Christmas tree at 630pm. That is a very long day for all of the volunteers who put it together. For the second year in a row my mom and my little niece came. This time I also had my older niece. It was fantastic. My little niece and I dropped off all of my baking at 730am and then went for a walk downtown. Our main street was already blocked off and volunteers were making sure the parking spots for the horse and wagons were ready, hot chocolate was being brewed for the kids and coffee for the adults, the fire barrels were getting prepped for the roasting of hot dogs and marshmallows, and the parade floats were starting to arrive. In the community centre, vendors were setting up for a Christmas market. There was snow falling and the air was sparkling in anticipation of the day. We did it all and had a great day. We were phenomenally tired last night and fell into bed early.

The volunteers that organized and put together the celebration of Christmas in our village gave to me and my family a day that will be talked about for the next year. We have no idea how many hours it took to pull off such an amazing day. I know our fire chief, who is also our Public Works manager was on our streets late Friday night, leading the parade in the morning, and still working traffic at the tree lighting ceremony. Santa and Mrs. Claus took time out of an incredibly busy schedule to spend the day with us. The Grinch came for the first time and thrilled us all, young and old. It takes a ton of planning, lots of people, and lots of time to give such a gift. And a gift it was. One that we truly appreciated.

And to my hero, my mom, a sincere thank you. She gives and gives to her family. She gives directly to me constantly and weekly when she proofs and provides feedback on my blog. The prayers that she offers up daily for her family are what keep us going, even when we don’t realize it. My mom never stops supporting, encouraging, and worrying about me. In her eyes, it’s what a mother is supposed to do. In my eyes, it’s a gift of love and care that goes beyond motherhood. Thank you, Mom.

Some of the baking in various stages from last week.

A Christmas arrangement I put together for my pink and mint green bathroom.

The Grinch at our parade - definitely one of my favourites!

The candies being given out by the Grinch in the parade - too perfect, I just had to share!

Yours truly enjoying a hotdog freshly cooked over fire!

The before and after shots of our village tree. A beautiful ending to a perfect day!