This post is brought to you by Zonderkidz. All opinions are my own.
There are so many things that I love about my kids, and one of the biggest is that Shane is a giver. He has a great big heart and he wants to help the entire world with it. He gives all his spare change- and often some of his allowance- to good causes, and he adds to every tip jar he sees. He wishes he could help all kinds of animals, and while he hates to part with his outgrown clothes and toys, he changes his mind when I remind him that someone in need will get to have them.
While Shane is a big giver year-round, Zac is just getting to the age where he can understand how great it is to give. He’s almost five, so until now he’s only seen Christmas as a time where he gets things. Thankfully, there are tools to help kids understand the importance of giving back. For us, one of those tools has been the book The Berenstain Bears and the Joy of Giving. The story teaches Brother and Sister bear an important lesson- the joy of giving! To help Zac see the same joy, we added a new activity for our family this year inspired by The Berenstain Bears and the Joy of Giving– we made our own Advent Box of Giving!
I picked up a really cute box at the store and made these printable good deed ideas. I cut them up and put them in the box, and each day one kid pulls a good deed out and does it that day! They’re small deeds that don’t take a lot of time or money to accomplish, but that can show kids the joy of giving, which is the true magic of Christmas.
If you want to create your own Advent Box of Giving at your home, you can grab these free printable good deeds sheets- Click here for Page 1 and Click here for Page 2! {We have 12 good deeds to count down the 12 Days of Christmas, but if you want to celebrate the entire month of December you can print two copies and do each good deed twice!}
While this activity has already helped to get our kids- including Zachary- into the giving spirit, another inspiration for that has been the book The Berenstain Bears and The Joy of Giving. Originally published in 2010, this new-to-us book shows that it’s often better to give than to receive!
About the book:
In The Berenstain Bears and The Joy of Giving, Brother and Sister Bear can’t wait for Christmas and all the presents they’ll open. But during the Christmas Eve pageant, something special happens! The Bear cubs learn a very valuable lesson about the joy of giving to others.
My kids loved this story and I loved it, too. It was so heartwarming to see Brother and Sister realize how important it was to give, and it reminded me of my boys. If you want another great Christmas story to add to your collection, you can learn more about the book and get your own copy here!
How do you encourage your kids to give back during the holiday season or year-round?
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