Holiday bonus

It started a few years ago.  We were all used to rushing around and trying to find something meaningful yet within budget to give one another: something pretty for Mom, something outdoorsy for Mike, something cool and interesting for my brother and his girlfriend  (now wife), something useful for Grandma Ann, as well as a little something here and there for everyone else who happened to join in our celebration that given year.  As it turns out, it is not so easy to churn out meaningful, useful, yet budget-able gifts year after year for the same people.  As it does for so many families, Christmas had become about the gifts, not about spending time with one another, or appreciating the season, or even lending a nod to the actual event which we were supposed to be celebrating.

Finally, someone said stop.

It might have been my Mom, or me, or someone else…I can’t remember.  But what followed the stop was something that brought a little meaning back to our holiday.  We decided, as a family, to nix the gifts.  The little kids (so far only my own two) still get a little something special, but the rest of us bring only our checkbooks or a handful of cash and our Christmas spirit.  Some people donate more than others and we don’t keep track of who brought what; we each donate what we can and that is enough.  We throw all of the money into a jar and as our holiday gathering gets underway, we each take a few moments to write down the name of a charity on a slip of paper.  We don’t limit the selection to local organizations, just whatever charity we each hold dear to our hearts.  We have had charities ranging from local soup kitchens and crisis pregnancy centers to homes for AIDS orphans in Ethiopia.  It’s a mixed bag of organizations that try to do good in the world, and we always find it interesting to see what everyone else has written down.

The names go in a basket, and before we part ways for other celebrations, gatherings, or quiet reflection, one of the littlest among us will choose a name from the slips of paper and all of the money we’ve collected goes to that charity.  The check is usually substantial, a Holiday bonus for an organization that has probably never heard of any of us.  A Holiday bonus that buys diapers or baby cribs or anti-retroviral medication or the simplest gift of all: food for the hungry.

And it is a Holiday bonus for all of us, too.  We don’t spend as much time at the mall, which means we can spend more time with those we love.  We have less stress, less panic over finding just the right thing.  Instead of ripping through a mountain of paper and ribbons and trying to feign excitement for something that we truly don’t want or need, we talk and laugh and tell stories and make memories.  And you know what?  It feels good.  It feels good to know that instead of another sweater or pair of earrings, someone who actually has need is going to be helped.  That is the very best Holiday bonus I can think of.


It’s Madhouse Wednesday…er, Thursday? I am always so late.   Here are the others who play along…some every week, others when they can (and some habitually late, but I won’t mention any names…ahem).  You can join in the fun, too!  Let me know if you want in and we’ll get your blog added to the list.
Allison – Allimonster Speaks
Barb – Spencer Hill Spinning & Dyeing
Batty – Batty’s Adventures in Spooky Knitting
Dave – Notes from the Field
Eileen - Art Deco Diva Knits
Evil Twin’s Wife – The Glamorous Life of a Hausfrau
G – Not-A-Box
Heather – She Flies With Her Own Wings
Jennifer – Ask Poops, Please
JMLC – Daydreams and Ruminations
Kate – One More Thing
LC – LC in Sunny So Cal
Louise – Child of Grace
Marcy – Mittentime
Melanie – usually, things happen
Nikki – Land of the Free, Home of the Depressed
Sara – yoyu mama