10 Ways to Pay It Forward during the holidays

Christmas is a time of giving. Everyone knows this. We work hard to teach our children that Christmas is about giving more than receiving, and then we give them heaps of Christmas presents. One way to remind our children that Christmas should include serving others is to teach them the concept of how to pay it forward.

For more information on what the pay it forward concept is, check out this video.

Not every ‘only’ child is spoiled, as many people assume, but there is a danger they can be, especially at Christmas time. If they are the only child in a larger extended family they could be showered with gifts and attention over the Christmas Season and assume they are entitled to it all.

If you are concerned that your child is behaving a little spoiled check out our post on ‘How to unspoil your child‘.

A good way to balance the joy of receiving presents at Christmas time and the responsibility of caring for those in need is to ‘pay it forward.’ That is, for every good gift and favour someone offers to you, you can give to another person in greater need.

We have Charles Dickens to thank for sharing a message of giving to the less fortunate at Christmas time. His hit novel ‘A Christmas Carol‘ reportedly produced a spike in charitable giving in 1844. Whilst giving to the poor has always been a Christmas Tradition, ‘A Christmas Carol‘ rocketed the tradition to new heights, creating a festive giving revolution.

The good thing about ‘paying it forward’ is that it is good for your own well-being. Making other people happy boosts your own happiness hormones. This is a great life lesson you can teach your child. Show them how helping others can make them happy.

Sops and I recommend you create an annual Christmas Tradition where you and your family ‘pay it forward’ to help others in need.

See below for 10 ideas of paying it forward that you can try.

For more ideas on establishing Christmas Traditions check out our post on How to create Family Traditions

Pay it Forward with the Shoe Box Appeal

Over the last 10 years, Sops and I donate a shoebox gift to the Samaritans Purse Shoebox appeal. We pack a shoebox with gifts for a girl Sops’ age and donate it to the Samaritans Purse Shoebox appeal.

Our local funeral directors collect the boxes and then send them to the Samaritans Purse HQ, where the boxes are sorted and sent all over the world to children in need. This means another girl, like Sops will receive a gift at Christmas.

This is a wonderful way for your child to ‘pay it forward’ by considering giving to another child their own age. If you have not created a shoebox gift in the past, perhaps you can start the tradition this year with your family? It is so rewarding as Samaritans Purse will always inform you where your gift has been sent to.

Feed the Homeless

There are many great organisations that host Christmas dinners for the homeless. They often require people to volunteer in the kitchens or serve dinners. If your child is old enough, perhaps as a family you can offer to help in a soup kitchen for the homeless during the Christmas season?

There is a list of homeless charities you can volunteer for in our useful websites list at the bottom of this page.

Visit the Lonely

These last two years have been difficult for so many people. The pandemic has thrown millions of people into isolation and shone a spotlight on those who suffer from loneliness. During the lockdowns, I certainly had greater sympathy for the elderly, and the disabled who are often trapped in their houses all day without seeing anyone else. We are social creatures and need other human contacts for our own survival and well-being.

So maybe this Christmas time you could volunteer to visit a care home, or go see an elderly or disabled neighbour who does not go out often.

Perhaps you can volunteer to call a lonely person once a week to check on them and have a chat? Maybe your child could make some cards for the elderly and disabled people living in your community and deliver them?

For charities that organise visits to those who are lonely please check our useful websites list at the bottom of this page.

Paying it Forward by Directing the Church Nativity Play

Or at least supporting it.

When I was little, I remember crying in the church because my brothers were in a Nativity play, but I wasn’t in it. I was only four at the time. The directors of the play asked me who I wanted to play and I said I wanted to be an angel and I got the role! I wonder if film stars could pull the same trick to grab the starring role in the next blockbuster film? If only it was that easy.

Anyway, I was super chuffed to be an angel that year and I often volunteered to be in any church production whether it was a Nativity play or even a Passion Play. My whole family would get involved. Mum would help with costumes and my dad helped with technical issues such as lighting. My brothers liked playing Roman soldiers and poking Jesus with their swords.

It was a good way for the family to do something together and serve the community. It is a brilliant way to share the Christmas story with your child, so they learn what Christmas is about, but in a fun active way.

And kids look simply adorable in their Nativity costumes. You can treasure the photos for years to come.

Volunteer at a Food Bank

Unfortunately, the rising prices of fuel and food are forcing more people to rely on food banks this year. Perhaps during the Harvest Festival or Thanksgiving, you can donate food to your local food bank. There is usually a food bank basket in local supermarkets and you can add some extra groceries into them ready for Christmas boxes. You can also volunteer at food banks to sort out the goods to make up boxes for families. There may be a stronger need for volunteers in December to help make up special Christmas boxes for families in Need this year.

I have added some Food Bank charities to the useful websites list at the bottom of this page.

Raise Money for Charity

Christmas time is a great opportunity to raise some much-needed funds for charity. You can be as fun and as creative as you want to be.

In my local town, there is a street that has the best-decorated houses in the district. The street is all aglow with lights, and blow-up Santas. People from all over the area drive down the road and donate money to see the lights. The residents choose a new local charity every year. This is their way to pay it forward in their own community. Perhaps you could arrange a similar event in your own neighbourhood?

Maybe host a cake and Christmas Jumper event at work. Everyone needs to donate a cake and wear a festive jumper and donate to a chosen charity.

Think about what talents and skills you have to use to raise money. Perhaps you are really good at sports and fitness and could do a sponsored run? Or perhaps you are really funny and you can hold a Stand-Up comedy night?

Charities rely heavily on Christmas giving every year. It’s when they tend to receive their largest annual income. Like so many small businesses some charities made a loss due to the pandemic, but more people needed to use their services due to the time of crisis. If you are able to help support a charity this Christmas you could really make a difference to someone else even if you don’t know it.

Pay it Forward by Carol Singing

Have you got a glorious melodious voice? Does your family sound like the Von Trapp’s even if there are just three of you? If so, why not go Carol Singing in your neighborhood with other members of your community?

In my youth, I went Carol Singing in our local village to raise funds for the local Hospice. It was great fun. We would walk down streets and sing our little hearts out and some members of the group would knock on the neighbour’s doors to ask for donations. Then we would all warm up with hot chocolate and mince pies in some posh person’s big ol’ house and feel good about ourselves. It was a great way of mixing with the village community and singing always makes people feel happier.

Pay it forward by Giving a charity gift voucher

Talking about charities, have you ever considered buying a pig for someone? No, well it would be most welcomed in a poor home in a developing country. So, if you know someone who is full of compassion for the world, and seems to have everything, perhaps you can buy them a ‘charity gift voucher’, which is a gift to a charity that will give something useful to someone in need. This could include Livestock, fuel, food, education for a child etc.

I have added both faith-based and secular charities to the useful websites list below, that offer this service.

Donate Toys to a Children’s Hospital

Have you ever watched Noel’s Christmas Presents programme on Christmas Day? I just well up every time I see Noel Edmonds in his bizarre jumpers offering toys to poorly children. The idea of children being stuck in a hospital on Christmas Day sucks. So, I think if you could donate toys to children in the hospital to receive on Christmas day their happiness levels will overflow and so will your heart.

Check with your local hospital if it receives gifts for children for Christmas, or consider donating to Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital.

There are some links to where and how you can donate toys to a children’s hospital in the UK in the Useful websites list below.

Pay it Forward by Inviting someone to your Christmas meal

Last year I ate my Christmas dinner alone. It was rubbish. Sops was with her dad for Christmas dinner and due to restrictions, I couldn’t join them. I set up a little table in front of the TV and watched a Family Christmas Film with a glass of wine. I couldn’t face sitting at a table all alone for Christmas and it made me think of all the lonely people out there who may be spending Christmas Day alone too.

So following my suggestion on visiting the lonely, why not consider inviting someone who will be lonely to your dinner table this Christmas? If you are only a family of two or three this year, is there space at your table for another person?

Perhaps there is someone in your neighbourhood who was recently widowed, and may be spending their first Christmas alone? Perhaps there is someone at work or in your local church or social group that will be spending Christmas alone? Ask people how they are spending Christmas Day this year and if they said they will be alone invite them to join you and your family. You cannot imagine how that gesture will brighten someone’s life. You will all have a merrier Christmas for it.