As a child my family always participated in the Angel Tree program during the holiday and now it is one of my favorite charities. It's fun to choose a child to shop for and know that you will be providing a meaningful holiday for that one individual person. This when I saw the Angel Tree at Wal-Mart I immediately chose a child. I was able to find a little boy who is Samuel's age, named Elijah. I think a good tradition to begin with our children is that each year they will choose a child from the tree that is their same age and gender and then select gifts for them. It is important to me to teach my children to find happiness in giving and not just receiving.
I can't say that Samuel really helped me shop for Elijah, but he definitely approved the gifts since he wanted to play with everything I picked! The Angel Tree card said that Elijah was hoping to get learning toys and cars. It also provided his clothing sizes. Therefore, we picked out an electronic bus that teaches the alphabet, two Little People cars, a "first words" book and a set of fleece sleepers. We were limited to just 4 gifts although I would have loved to give more. It just makes my heart break to think of how many children go without basic necessities, much less toys and books. I look at Samuel and know that in his life he has never wanted for anything. I am very grateful and pray that he will always have that security.
In addition to the Angel Tree, I also contributed to a new charity I heard of from a friend. It's called Operation Christmas Child. This organization asks participants to wrap up a shoe box and then fill it with small toys, treats, school supplies and toiletries. Then the box is sent to a child in an impoverished country overseas. In addition to giving the child your shoe box the charity also shares the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I had fun choosing small gifts to fill the box and all were deemed acceptable by Samuel who checked everything out while we shopped. For this project I also choose to sponsor a child near Samuel's age, although we did not have a specific child. We just created a gift for a male between the ages of 1-3.
I hope there will be a couple of happy kids on Christmas morning thanks to our efforts. I know I will be thinking of Elijah and our little toddler overseas as I watch Samuel open gifts. I hope they will be having as much fun with their new toys and that their holiday will be full of laughter and fun!
Our Angel Tree gifts for Elijah:
The box we created for Operation Christmas Child:
