4th day of Christmas

On the 4th day of Christmas: Giving as a Family

Each Monday in December, we've incorporated into our Family Home Evenings a lesson on giving as part of the Christmas season.

The first Monday of December, we put up the Christmas tree and each boy created their wish lists. We talked to the boys about asking for things they needed & wanted, and about not being greedy. They were limited to only 5 requests each, and the lists they created were pretty sensible. Ammon asked for new church shoes, church clothes, winter coat, boots, and a pillow. Grandpa T. had extra snow boots in Ammon's size, so we crossed that off his list, and he added the Madden NFL 13 wii game. Jonah asked for a BSU jersey, ice skates, slippers, a mini banana chair, and an SD card for his new tablet. Micah requested an SD card, ice skates, his favorite movie "Over the Hedge", and the new Legos Lord of the Rings wii game, and another wii game. Kanyon wants a remote control monster truck, star wars legos, the Wipeout 2 wii game, a DS game, and a tablet. Josh really enjoys shopping and fulfilling their needs, and Santa usually supplies most of the children's wants. 

After the boys created their wish lists, we talked to them about our family sponsoring another family this Christmas. Josh got lists of items needed for a family, and we all decided to pool our money together and go shopping together to help this specific family. Josh and I went shopping one day, and then Josh took the kids shopping another day to purchase items on the list. The boys all donated $10 of their own money to help this family, and they felt good about helping.

The second Monday in December, we talked to the boys about giving to each other. I told them that I would match the funds that they gave to help the anonymous family, so I would be giving them each $10 to shop for one of their brothers. They pulled names out of a jar to see which brother they would be giving to. I told them that the purpose of this activity was to give, not to receive, so they were not to tell the brother that pulled their name what they wanted. It was up to the giving brother to decide what to get. I've taken them shopping one by one this week to get their items for their chosen brother. They each had to choose on their own what to get, and they've all done so well! They will each be wrapping their gifts tonight to put under the tree for their brother.

The third Monday in December (in 2 days from now), we will be delivering home-made goodies to neighbors and friends and family around Salmon. It takes a few hours to make the rounds, and we all help in the giving: Josh & I have purchased the items to make the treats, I bake the goodies, Josh drives us around to the homes, and the boys give out the gifts!

The fourth Monday night in December is Christmas Eve. We will be reading the Nativity story, and talking about the gift of the Savior's Life, and the gift of the Atonement for us. We will share stories about giving to others around us, as Jesus would like us to do. We all had a goal at the first of the year to perform acts of service every day, and we will continue that discussion and implement the continuous desire to give and act on that goal. This is our gift to Jesuss for his celebrated birthday, to serve others.