"Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile." - Albert Einstein

I think giving to others is a very important aspect of life and is one of the most important virtues you could teach your children. With all the technology we have these days, how we can almost live our lives without stepping a foot out of our home because of the web access we have, being self centered as become very easy. But that does not make service obsolete or unimportant. It just serves to make it more important. Lives and societies are built and improved through sacrifice, service, giving, and random acts of kindness.

This Christmas season is an especially good time of year to help others. Christmas has gained the reputation, and perhaps a negative one at that, of being all about giving presents to your children and other loved ones. But it should not be all about you, and what you can provide for your kids or other family members. It should also be about Christ and everyone around us, especially the less fortunate. It is so easy to give, even if you have no extra money. Giving of your time or talents can be just as important.

It is so easy to form service focused Christmas traditions in your family.

You could:

Sacrifice some of your Christmas budget to buy toys for Toys for Tots.
Help at your local cold weather shelter.
Donate items to the cold weather shelter or other humanitarian groups.
Give money to organizations that help soldiers and their families.
Drop money in the red buckets of the bell ringers.
Pick a less fortunate family and fill in for Santa.
Secretly drop off treats to a neighbor.
Provide dinner for those working on Christmas Eve or Christmas.
Visit your older neighbors and help them decorate for Christmas or help them wrap their presents.

There are just so many things you could do. I can't even begin to touch on all of them. But I can urge you to find an act of service, or two, or three, that you can perform this Christmas season. And perhaps, if you enjoy it as much as I think you will, you can continue to perform acts of service throughout the new year.

For more ideas and information, read the post on Simple Moms about giving: Click Here!