If you have kids, know kids, or are a kid, you may know that kids these days have a lot of stuff. And every year for their birthdays they get a lot more. My daughter would receive so many toys for her birthday that she wasn’t even able to play with them all. So we started a tradition of collecting donations for charity instead of gifts.
Moms and dads loved this because it saved them from having to go out and buy a present, and my daughter felt proud to use her special day to help others. And the environment was spared because more than likely, the toys that she would receive are made by irresponsible, dangerous companies. So consider asking your child or a child you know if they would want to forgo the stuff and give instead to their favorite charity.
And this giving tends to give back ten fold. Not only did my daughter feel proud to be of use to her favorite cause (animals) but our lives became less cluttered and she was able to enjoy the things that she did have even more. And hopefully her generation will be one that appreciates the simple things, instead of the accumulation of more stuff!
And the true gift we adults are giving to our children, instead of the momentary excitement of a shiny new thing that will only end up in a landfill, is a clean and healthy future. But if you must give the shiny new thing, luckily now there are many green companies that deserve our support.
