Giving Tuesday is coming up (December 1), and while I don’t really care if you “observe” Black Friday or Cyber Monday, I hope you celebrate Giving Tuesday big time! For the last couple years I’ve posted a list of gifts-that-give-back opportunities on Giving Tuesday, and I plan to do it again this year. This year’s list will include most of last year’s, but it will also have some new additions. Do any of you have suggestions to add to the list? If you do, leave me a comment here or email me at jenunderwood0629@gmail.com. I’d love to hear from you!
Speaking of “giving,” my kids are already gearing up for Christmas presents. They swapped names for their sibling gifts a couple weeks ago (the list is stuck on the refrigerator as a ready reminder!) and this past weekend they all gathered around the dining room table to discuss their collective gift for me and my husband. A couple years ago they got us a beautiful blanket from Hand and Cloth (it’s on the Giving Tuesday list!). You can see a picture of it above.
Anyway, I was in the kitchen just a few feet away, so they made me put on my daughter’s big old headphones and listen to music while I washed dishes so I couldn’t hear. Suddenly my youngest was by my side, rubbing his eyes in the way he does when he is trying very, very hard not to cry. I looked at him and then into the dining room where the older girls were motioning me to take off the headphones.
When I did, Em said, “Ask him why you don’t deserve a Christmas present.” She was grinning.
I laughed. “So, bud, why don’t your dad and I deserve a Christmas present.”
“Christmas is just for kids,” he said, very, very seriously.
This child is quite attached to his wallet, so I suspected the reason might be more a fiscal than philosophical matter. “How much are they wanting you to put in?” I asked.
“Fifteen cents!” he wailed, and when I started to laugh, his older brother hollered, “It’s all he has!”
Jen Underwood 
oh my goodness! I laughed so hard at this, but mainly because I know what you mean! We just filled two Samaritan’s Purse Shoeboxes and although I had purchased small items throughout the year, we put the items in the boxes together and then decided what else we needed to add. I thought it would be good for my boys to purchase a little item to add to the box, which we went out together and they purchased with their own money (a total of 3,50 Euro each). On Skype that evening with my parents, my seven year old told his grandparents, “Mama FORCED us to buy a gift for the shoeboxes.” It was all we could do to not laugh out loud, but my parents responded so well with, “well, your mama is just helping you learn how to give to others.”
Love this! Wise comment from your parents! So cute!