Meaningful Christmas giving

Since we were out of town over the Thanksgiving weekend, our family is a little behind on our usual Christmas traditions.

One of my favorites is sending some Christmas goodwill from the World Vision gift catalog.  We usually cap off our Thanksgiving celebration and kick off the Christmas season by allowing our children to pick a selection from the catalog.  We all love this tradition, which brings out the true spirit of the season for our family.World Vision Catalog

Are you familiar with World Vision and its gift catalog?  World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization that makes a difference around the world.  Selections in the catalog are gift options for people around the world – what World Vision calls “gifts of hope.”

Gift options include chickens, goats, pigs, fishing kits, fruit trees, and drought-resistant seeds to provide an ongoing source of food to help hungry families.  Other choices are life-saving medicines, vaccinations, and mosquito nets that help prevent malaria.  Educational gifts are also available, such as school supplies, a bicycle for a girl’s safe transportation to school, or a sewing machine or career training to help women in poverty-stricken countries.

Browsing through the catalog together with our kids is a wonderful teachable moment to talk about the needs in other parts of the world and our calling as Christians to show compassion, as Jesus modeled for us.  We can focus on the privilege of giving something truly meaningful.

This year my children chose to give a goat, which will provide milk, cheese, and yogurt.  It’s great to see them joyfully find a gift they want to provide to help meet the need of someone across the globe!

The World Vision catalog is available online at worldvisiongifts.org.

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