When I was 15, my parents informed my sister and I that we wouldn’t be doing our normal Christmas that year. Instead of the obscene amounts of gifts we normally got, we would be putting together small Christmas gift bags and take them to families spending their holidays in the hospital. We still got gifts that year because my parents weren’t going to not give us any at all, but the best gift I got that year was learning the importance of giving back.
Our bags that we put together consisted of small little Christmas crafts that we had made and some that were still packaged so that kids there with their families would have something to do. We also included gum, mints, candy, small toys, snacks, and letters of encouragement. We went to the medical district in downtown Houston and went to a few different hospitals in the area and just walked around the waiting rooms handing out the gifts.
As we walked around giving these bags to worried parents, siblings, and children, I realized that it wasn’t even about what was in the bag. Those bags took maybe fifteen minutes total for us to put together and people loved them. They didn’t love them because of their monetary value, they loved them because our family, who was fortunate enough to not have a family member spending their holiday in the hospital, recognized how difficult this was for families and wanted to make it a little easier.
At the beginning of that experience, the spoiled brat in me was upset that I wouldn’t be getting as many presents that year as normal. When I realized how happy we were making these people, though, I didn’t care about the presents. It taught me a valuable lesson that I will forever be grateful to my parents for.
That holiday season I think my parents spent about $50 on presents for each of the kids. I know for some families that’s a lot, but in my family Christmas is pretty extreme, so it was a big difference for us. It was worth it though, because the lesson we learned was that not everybody is as fortunate as we are. Not every family has enough money to even buy a Christmas tree, let alone presents for each child. Not every family can afford to put on a huge Christmas dinner for all their family members. And there’s way too many families that are separated during the holidays, with loved ones in the hospital or overseas. It taught me to appreciate every single thing I have, especially the things that I really don’t need. And it taught me that giving back is so much more rewarding then getting everything on your wish list.
This holiday season, I encourage everyone to give back somehow. Whether it’s donating clothes or toys, feeding the homeless, or even offering love and support to those in need, I encourage you to do something. There’s really no feeling better than the feeling you get when you give someone something to be happy about during the holidays. I guarantee those people you help will never forget it, and neither will you.
