Giving back to the community

by Krista As my family embraces the holiday season, my husband and I have decided to make a concentrated effort on educating our children as to how they can help to support those in their community who are less fortunate than them, and why it is important that they do that.  We are very thankful for our happiness, health, and home, and we know that others are not as fortunate.  We want to show our children that that is not right, and that we together can do something to help.  I remember doing that with my parents when I was young, and I hope my children will grow up to remember the same.

Here is a list of a few of the ideas that we have discussed or investigated.  Some represent a monetary donation or a donation of time and some require both.   While I have small children that I want to involve, not all of them are applicable for families with young children.  I've noted age limits or restrictions where I could, but it is always best to check with the recipient of your donation to see what age is appropriate for participation.  Some will encourage the participation of little ones, but others might require that they take a limited role

The Ottawa Foodbank is a local institution that helps to feed families in need as well as supply food to shelters and other programs for their meals.  I am sure that you have seen the bins in many large grocery stores in the area.  This month, we will be targeting their "most needed list" with a donation each time we shop.  I also looked into whether we could volunteer in any capacity, but our children are way to young.  If you do have children 12 or older, you can volunteer together to do things like work in the warehouse, do office work, or work at special events. The volunteer contact information is on their website.

The Christmas Exchange also seeks to provide assistance with feeding families in need, through the Christmas hamper and store vouchers programs.  When I was a child, we used to always do Christmas baking while listening to their radio-thon on CFRA.  While the telethon has taken place, there are still opportunities and events for our family to get involved, listed on their website.  Their are volunteer activities for older youths listed on the volunteer page.

Some local churches and houses of worship also have programs where you can "adopt" a family, and build a hamper containing, food, essential goods and small gifts.  St. James United Church in the Glebe is one of those.  By contacting organizations that offer hampers (many of Ottawa's houses of worship are listed here), you can see if your family can help to build a hamper by purchasing the items they need, pack hampers and wrap gifts, or deliver hampers right before Christmas.  There are opportunities for younger children to help out in all aspects of this process, but some tasks may be more suitable than others, so please remember to let whichever organization you help out with know that the ages of your children so that you can ensure they will help out when they are volunteering.

Many local elementary, middle and high schools also get involved with food drives, charitable fundraisers and holiday meals.  Our children are not yet in school, but if you do have children in school, these drives and events provide a great opportunity to talk about those less fortunate, and why you support the activities.  You can help out by volunteering with your child, or in the school.  If they are holding a Christmas dinner, you may be able to help by cooking or serving with the child.

A number of local restaurants and houses of worship also hold free meals for those less fortunates on Christmas day or the days leading up to it.  The Newport Restaurantin Westboro is one such establishment.  They have been hosting a Christmas meal for as long as I can remember and accept all sorts of food donations, as well as need volunteers on Christmas day to help out.  The best part?  They accept volunteers of all ages!  When I called to ask what we can do to help, they told me that young children are welcome to help out, provided they can carry a plate! If you cannot make it on Christmas day, they also accept food donations in advance.  Please contact them to see how you can help out.

There are also a few institutions in Ottawa that host holiday meals. The Mission is one that holds the meal in advance of Christmas, in case you were wanting to volunteer, but unable to do so on Christmas day.  Their meal will be held on December 19th.  In addition to using volunteers on that day, they have an ongoing need throughout the month.  Youths aged fourteen and up are eligible to help out with their parents at the Mission or their events.  If your children are too young, they may still have a need for prepared foods, that you can make together.  This year, we will be baking desserts for their holiday meal.  Please contact them to see if they have further need.

In the lead up to Christmas, we will also try to bring some toys to children in need. This can be accomplished in a couple of ways. One idea that I had was to go shopping as a family and pick out toys or games that our children would like, but donate them to Toy Mountain, which only accepts new toys.  The other was to clean out our toy bins, and donate the toys and books that we don't use anymore to a shelter, or church, or a thrift store.  Thrift stores, like Value Village take all sorts of donated goods, including toys, and help out lower income families by offering themfor sale at low cost.

Lastly, we will be gathering up our old snow suits to donate to the Snowsuit Fund, which will pass them on to children in need.  The children can help us with this task by gathering the pieces and matching up hats, mitts and boots, and then dropping them off with us.

December is a busy month, and I know that we are not going to be able to do all of the ideas that I listed above, but I hope to involve the children in some of the ones that we have planned.  I know that not everyone celebrates the holidays in the same way, or at the same time, but I hope these activities give you a starting off point if you are looking to help out in the community.

Do you have any other ideas?

Krista is married to Willy and mom to a 3 year old son, Woo, and 2 year old daughter Goose. You can find her at Life in the Hutch or on Twitter @kgraydonald

Santa photos

by Lara My friend's mother has this lovely scrapbook and all that is in it are pictures of her kids (and now grandkids) with Santa over the year. I LOVE that scrapbook - it's not even my family and I love photos with Santa and seeing them evolve over the years.  I knew that I needed to have a scrapbook like that and so photos with Santa are a must do on our list every year.

Now, photos with Santa aren't quite as simple as just showing up at the mall, especially if you are.... picky about Santa's beard let's say.  Not all of Santa's helper Santas are all created equal, if you know what I mean.

I have a favourite Santa - he hangs out at Place d'Orleans and we call him Santa Pierre.

As long as the kid isn't crying and Santa looks good - you've got a great Santa picture in my opinion :)

If you like Santa Pierre, you can call Place d'Orleans to find out when he'll be there.

But even if you can't manage to see him, all Santa photos are amazing :)

For some extra Santa fun, you can get a personalized message from Santa for your kids from Magic Santa - something Kiernan loved both this year and last!

Do you get photos with Santa? Do you have a favourite place to go?

Lara is mom to 3.5 year old Kiernan and 1 year old twins Quinn and Juliette. You can read her blog at Gliding Through Motherhood.

Teacher gifting 101

by Angela “Christmas gift suggestions: To your enemy, forgiveness. To an opponent, tolerance. To a friend, your heart. To a customer, service. To all, charity. To every child, a good example. To yourself, respect.” - Oren Arnold

To a teacher...a mug?

What to give the person who shapes your child’s life daily? Or, as it is more common, the “people”, as it is rarely one educator these days who cares for our children day in and day out.

What is appropriate? What is too much? Too personal? Too cliched? What if you don’t like your kid’s teacher? What if you just don’t have the money this holiday to gift the teachers you want to?

Who knew Christmas time gift giving at the school was rife with so many questions...

There are no rules about “having” to give your child’s teacher a gift at Christmas ( or any other time of the year). Teachers do not expect gifts...but we as parents often feel a great responsibility in recognizing their service with a yuletide gift. I have been giving teacher gifts for 11 years now. My oldest is in grade 10 and I admit to having been swept up in the gift-a-thon that can become the tissue strewn school hallways that last day of class before Christmas break.

Over the years, I have become more relaxed in my gift giving habits. And this is a good thing. Lessons learned from over doing. I have my teacher gift giving down pat now. No more last minute rush to Winners, overspending in panic and guilt ;).

But I wondered...is what I choose to give every year the right thing? Is it appreciated or unnecessary? The holidays are expensive...no one wants to give a gift that is not wanted. But even more importantly, I want to give gifts that really say “thank you”. Being blessed with a large circle of friends who are teachers (even a few who have survived my kids) , I decided...who better to ask?

Skip the potential teacher gift fails and listen to the people who know!

So, teachers from Alaska to Long Sault, Ottawa to San Diego were all polled this week in a search for the perfect teacher’s gift.

To be honest...I was a little surprised by how absolutely similar their responses were, across the land. Teachers love interesting books and wine but mostly?  Little things made by the students they love. Pretty straight forward.

The big surprise? They're not such big fans of home made food. Now, I think this would depend on your familiarity with the teacher...but several mentioned a bit of an aversion to home baked food gifts.

Except chocolate, of course.

According to my completely unscientific survey...a most definitive “yes please” was given to the following gift ideas, from my posse of educators: -something handmade *by the child* -handmade cards ( no gift ) -a book you *know* they would enjoy ( about a shared interest, not random) -unique book related gifts - bookmarks! Handmade? Even better:) -gift cards were appreciated for coffee and...books:) -wine (if permitted)

What teachers wish you would not buy... -pencils, pens, stationary -homemade food -those super cheesy #1 teacher things (ornaments, mugs, pads of paper)

Overwhelmingly, something heartfelt and handmade by the child topped all their lists...even more than wine. Hard to believe, I know.

It seems almost too easy. And a reprieve from the thought of braving the dollar store with your child/children, allowing them to purchase with their own money, some chatchke that will likely just end up in a corner of a desk...when something crafted by their hands would sincerely warm their teacher’s heart.

So, where to find these heartfelt, handmade ideas?

Time for an admission...I am not a crafty mama...the thought of making versus purchasing makes me a little antsy...so I took the time to explore some ideas for homemade, teacher loving, child manageable, parent tolerable ideas that will leave everyone feeling warm and fuzzy:)

Here are my three favourite ideas to get you started...for you non naturally crafty types;) (and those crafty ones among us, please share and post your best successes in the comments)

For little hands - Frames decorated with buttons, stickers or flowers (sorry...you didn’t escape the dollar store after all...). Easy for your preschool or kindergarten child to glue and fill with a hand drawn picture ( that can be switched out for a photo later).

For your middle elementary school child - NoSew Pillows. We received one from a babysitter once with my daughter’s initial on one corner. It was adorable. With some fleece, a pair of scissors and some batting, you have a charming gift that can be personalized with an initial or beads or a iron on patch if desired.The easiest directions I  found are here.

NoSew Scarves are another fab option, easy and funkifiable - and good for a male teacher! (These were my two favourite guides)

For your high school kid...just kidding. Apparently secondary school teachers are just plain out of luck. No gifts for you according to real life educators everywhere.

Another option for Christmas gifting at the school, if you are looking at having to buy gifts for several teachers for several kids plus the school secretary (who is so good to you when your kid forgets her pizza money and covers for her out of her own pocket for the third time this year), is to provide a gift for the staff room or front office.

My daughter has two homeroom teachers, a music teacher, a science teacher and a drama teacher...it can get expensive quickly. Staff gifts are thoughtful and share the Christmas joy:). A gift of coffee and flavoured creamers for the school coffee maker, or a Timmies gift card for the front office are lovely ways of saying thank you. A FarmBoy fruit plate on the last day of school has also been a big hit in our school - healthy and refreshing and not much over 20$ for the whole staff. Or a gift basket, filled with candies ( may I suggest local Ottawa giftbasketeer www.shophaven.ca ?). I know it is more food...but who can resist candy?

My other favourite Christmas thank you speaks to the love of books that all the teachers mentioned. Bring your child to the bookstore ( the clearance section offers up some of the best deals )  and let them choose a book for their classroom, in the name of their teacher. If appropriate, have them write a Merry Christmas 2010 message inside the cover so the gift can be shared over the years in the classroom. Perhaps for younger siblings to enjoy later on!

After all this polling and Christmas present rethinking, I have decided to change my gift giving habits...

This year my little guy is going to be giving frames decorated with flowers, glued on by him. And likely to him...but that will be part of the fun:).

My daughter will be giving scarves to her teachers, designed and made by her. Likely with some bling or at the very least, a little monogramming.

I hope they do not miss the wine ;).

Angela is mom to a teen, tween and toddler, wife of an intrepid businessman, master of two big dogs and she loves her camera-baby very much. She is a displaced montrealer living in Long Sault, Ontario. She blogs at From the Dock.

Gift ideas for the teacher.

By Shawna When you have kids, you know you’re going to be buying gifts for life’s occasions for that child.  You don’t really think about it much ahead of time, as it’s not a factor that you weigh when you decide to procreate.  Everyone knows kids are expensive; it’s the feeding, clothing, sheltering, educating them, etc. that are the biggies.  Sure, when my kids started daycare, we added the daycare provider’s kids to our gift list for birthdays and Christmas, but fast forward to this year, when Sage entered junior kindergarten. 

It has only recently occurred to me that my mom always sent Christmas gifts to my teacher, ergo I should be thinking about what to get for Sage’s teacher.  This has sparked a mad combing of the internet to decide on what to get for a person I’ve only met a couple of times, but to whom I entrust my precious firstborn for several hours a day, five days a week.  I suspect I cannot be guaranteed of a hit by buying something Sage would like, which is my modus operandi for getting gifts for birthdays of kids I’ve never met.

So here’s what I’ve found:

All sites agree a heartfelt, handwritten note is always appreciated by a teacher.  My personal take on this is sure, it would be appreciated, but even more so if it comes with a thoughtful gift.

After this, sites seem to diverge in what would be appropriate.  Some proclaim that the personal touch is best: baked goods accompanied by a card – both handmade by your little elf – would be universally appreciated.  Others suggest small luxuries such as bath and beauty products would soothe away the frazzling effects of looking after half-pints all day.  And chocolate?  Well, who doesn’t like chocolate?

On the other hand, sites that claim to have polled real teachers (at least anecdotally) suggest that people are very conscious of their waistlines these days so fattening things aren’t a good choice.  Bye bye banana bread and chocolate.  And the choice of toiletries is a very personal thing so don’t bother getting stuff like that.  And for goodness sake, don’t get that poor teacher yet another mug!  If you really want to get a good gift for the teacher, why, here are some links to items that cost at least $50 each!

Give me a break!

Having winnowed through the contradicting opinions, here’s what I’ve found out and decided I believe:

Apparently, kids drive teachers to drink because one site claimed that a bottle of wine was the gift that would be most appreciated (in which case, my mom was right: that’s what she always gave).

If you don’t feel comfortable giving booze to a teacher (and I, frankly, wouldn’t, despite the fact that I’m sure it would be a popular choice 90% of the time), pretty much all teachers like gift certificates that allow them to choose their own gift.  Some malls have mall-wide gift certificates so you don’t even have to narrow it down to one store.

Teachers almost always end up spending their own money on classroom supplies.  If you don’t know what kind of gift certificate to get, one to a place like Scholar’s Choice (there’s an online store, plus two retail locations in Ottawa) is a pretty safe bet.

If you’re the organizing type, bigger may be better.  If you have a way to contact the other parents in your child’s class and are bold enough to send the message, “one $100 gift is better than ten $10 gifts, so if you want to pool money and go in on a gift for the teacher, let me know”, you may even be hailed as a hero by parents that don’t have the time or inspiration to find something on their own and would be happy to contribute a relatively small amount to a group gift.

There are lots of (but I bet not all) teachers who would appreciate the idea of donating to a charity in his or her name, instead of getting a dozen assorted mugs and boxes of chocolate.  There are tons of options for this (like Oxfam or Doctors Without Borders, or something more local like a pet-rescue shelter for a pet-loving teacher, just to give a few examples) if you think your child’s teacher is the it’s-better-to-give-than-receive type,  just do a quick search online.

Save your feet and frazzled nerves!  There are some great options for gifts to be had online, and they don’t have to be mass-produced.  I searched through Etsy (a site that connects artisans directly with buyers) treasuries and items using the word “teacher” as a search term to get some ideas.  In the end that’s where I ended up getting a gift for Sage’s teacher: she’s a lover of colour so I got her a small sparkly red apple pendant on a necklace, which I’m going to pair with a mini-calendar which I produce myself.  As a bonus, I also found a great “emergency gift” for a teacher – a pretty little clear glass apple paperweight with a silver stem and leaf.  Both gifts are now in the hands of the postal system, making their way to me, and I didn’t have to go out and fight a single crowd to get them.

Now to figure out: if Sage has just started taking the school bus a couple of weeks ago, do we get her bus driver a gift too?  This Christmas shopping may never end…

 Shawna is mom to 4-year-old Sage and 2-year-old Harris.  She has  been writing online since 2003, and her latest project is a fledgling photography blog.  She also has an Etsy shop of her very own.

Second-hand holidays

by Brie I love a good deal. Sometimes that means scouting the stores for sales, waiting until the item I want finally gets marked down and then grabbing it and running to the cash as fast as I can. Sometimes that means buying second-hand.

I don't have a problem with buying things other people have already owned. I love to buy my kids clothes second-hand. The way they wear their clothes only leaves me frustrated knowing I paid full price for the shirt with a blueberry stain that won't come out. Or tear in the leg. Or lost sweater. You get the idea.

I've also bought toys, baby equipment and furniture used. With the holidays coming, buying second-hand is a great way to find presents your kids and family will love without breaking the bank. Here are some of my favorite gift buying sources for shopping second-hand.

I have found great deals on clothes and toys, many of which I given to my kids as gifts, at kids consignment stores. I usually hit Boomerang Kids since it is closest to us, but I  have been know to venture further afield in search of something particular. And I am amazed by how many more stores there are now then when I was pregnant five years ago.

I like to browse online sites like Used Ottawa and Kijiji looking for to see what catches my eye. Just last week I stumbled upon a dollhouse that I ended up buying for the girl. I was looking for another present at the time, but couldn't resist the fact that I was getting it for a third of the price new. Plus I know she will love it when she finds it under the tree this year.

You never know what you will find when you shop at second-hand stores like Value Village and the Goodwill. We have quite a few toys, including a favorite barn, that my mother-in-law has scored at second-hand stores. And when a box came in the mail with 10 pairs of pants my mother-in-law had bought for my 4 year old for only a few dollars each, I was beyond impressed. They make up the bulk of her winter wardrobe, I didn't have to buy her any additional pants and they look like new.  Another reason to love my mother-in-law!

The perfect place to find little nicknack's, cheap knitting and yummy baking is at a Church bazaar. I have done quite well at Church bazaars in the past, buying some beautiful vintage jewellery for my sister and books for the kids. Last year I bought a matching hat and mitt set for my then 1 year old for $3. It made me gleeful.

Garage sales are a great place to look for holiday gifts. Yes I know it's December and there are no garage sales now, but I like to do my holiday shopping all year. One summer I hit garage sales hard and manged to buy all my Christmas gifts before labour day. I gave beautiful batik tablecloths, used books, shawls and old picture frames. I even wrapped everything in old scarves I picked up for $1 a piece.

Are any of you having a second-hand holiday this year? Where do you love to shop? What tips do you have to share?

Brie is the mom of a 4 year old daughter “the girl” and 2 old son “the boy”. You can read her blog at Capital Mom.