[UrsaMajor]

One does NOT want to end up on the "Naughty List!"

[Nas]

Ursa, that was… disconcerting 😬

Just got back from delivering 25 Christmas stockings full of toys and practical items. I didn’t reach my own arbitrary goal of 30 but it’s still a good batch and this is my favorite new tradition that I started my first Christmas after BD.
This year had a few bumps (someone stole grocery store gift cards and other items out of one of my donation boxes when I left it unattended for all of 20 minutes    )

This year in addition to local donations, I also set up an amazon wishlist so people could purchase items that would be delivered directly to me to be added to stockings for various age groups That worked out okay but needs some tweaking for next year.

Anyway, just sharing another idea for anyone looking for ways to at least temporarily keep your mind off life’s other stressors during the holidays. You can arrange to deliver donations to your local fire department, YMCA, food bank (arrange with them early in the fall, they all have different preferences about what they need and will/won’t accept).

[Treasur]

Just saw - and took part in - a lovely idea from my small local independent bookshop. You buy a book of your choice and they gift wrap it and deliver it to a patient in our local hospital on Christmas Eve. Isn’t that a nice idea? (I picked H is for Hawk, a lovely book that could be enjoyed by different ages and genders)

[Acorn]

Generous giving of your mental energy, time and empathy, I believe, is a powerful antidote to the sense of entitlement, materialism and downright selfishness that seem to be more noticeable during the festive season. 

Thank you, Nas and Treasur, for spreading love and care. 

That prods me to hurry up with completing  various handcraft items for the less fortunate among us.

[Biscuit]

Well said Acorn!

[UrsaMajor]

Ursa, that was… disconcerting 😬

Well, my other option was ...

Shall we just say ...

NSFHS

If you really want to see it, here's the link: https://media.giphy.com/media/47lf1638GDedZAnPQX/giphy.gif
 

[Nas]

Ursa, I wish I knew how to insert a GIF, but if you're familiar with Valerie Cherish from The Comeback: "I don't need to see that!"

[UrsaMajor]

Ursa, I wish I knew how to insert a GIF, but if you're familiar with Valerie Cherish from The Comeback: "I don't need to see that!"

You mean this one?



 

[FaithWalker]

Lowes got a bunch of their contractors to donate toys and I got to be one of the ones to pick them up.  We filled in the gaps on some of our angel tree kiddos and dropped off to 2 schools for delivery.  The rest of the toys are going to the Reach program, which is our homeless kids in school.  They received clothing donations but no toys.

I had a lot of fun dropping off angel tree gifts to my old school where I used to work.  We were able to bless 17 kids there and another 33 at another elementary school.

[Nas]

Bumping this one, especially in light of all the newbies.