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My daughter is very fortunate in the fact that the magic of Christmas is not unknown to her. She has family and friends who are blessed enough to gift to her most of the things on her Christmas list. A week ago her Nana bought and wrapped the Number One item on her Christmas Wish List this year. While I try to instill giving in her year round, sometimes the intoxication of Christmas magic can overshadow the simplicity of Christmas spirit for a little girl. For this reason, my husband and I enlist her specific help in packing gifts for local charitable organizations. She assists in choosing the gifts, packing them, and dropping them off at the appropriate location. This year, I was particularly proud of my daughter when she chose the items for our gifting shoe box. We have been loving the new Hallmark Northpole movie, and we have watched it many times over already. When I took her to Walmart to chose items for our gifts, she picked out Northpole merchandise for our box. She said that she enjoyed the movie so much that she wanted others to know the magic of it, too. Needless to say, I thought it was an excellent idea.
For this particular outreach, we were packing shoeboxes for a local Operation Christmas Child campaign. This donation project has already passed, but the point of this post isn’t to push a particular charity or organization. There are so many worthy charitable organizations that collect gifts this time of year. Some of them are national, and some of them are specifically local. I guarantee, though, that no matter where you are reading this post, you can probably name at least five to seven Christmas donation projects off the top of your head. Places that gather and distribute toys and other goods to children who otherwise would not receive much of anything for Christmas. We always pack the boxes and stockings that we donate with necessities like socks and toothbrushes, but why not pack a little magic in there, as well?
Northpole is a wonderful holiday movie that embodies the Christmas spirit of family togetherness and giving back to others and the community. If you haven’t seen the movie, I’m not going to spoil it for you, but trust me when I say the merchandise from the movie encourages these principles, as well. For our project, we purchased the Once Upon A Northpole Christmas story book + Find Me Santa Snowflake, the Magic snowball, the Peppermint Ring Fling, and the Snow Now! (Instant snow: just add water and a little magic).
The story book is a lovely adaption of the movie, and it is accompanied with the Find Me Santa Snowflake that lights up for up to two hours at a time. I couldn’t fit the book in our box (boo!), but we detached the snowflake and added it in the box with the other items.
For a sneak peek inside of the book, I’ve made a fun Instagram video that showcases it!
After the fact, I also remembered that our box has the potential of being sent to a child who doesn’t speak English, so it was probably best that I added the book to another donation project. No matter where a child lives, the Magic snowball, the Peppermint Ring Fling, and the Snow Now! (Instant snow: just add water and a little magic) is sure to be a magical treat. The Peppermint Ring Fling is a fun family game that two family members can enjoy together. One person wears the hat on their head while the other player tried to toss the rings around the hat. It makes me smile to think of children somewhere else in the world playing this game together!
While I’m proud of my daughter having a desire to give on any level, it makes my heart especially happy when she chooses to give things that she would particularly like to have herself. I know, even if she cannot express it in words, that she correlates these products from a movie she loves with a happy time of family and snuggling and Christmas. These are feelings that she hopes to pass on through a simple gift.
During our shopping trip at Walmart for these items, I also noticed many adults on the same aisle who were purchasing Northpole items. Some of them were my age with small kids, and others were elderly people who were hugging the Snowball the polar bear Plush or admiring the Northpole Communicator. It struck me in that aisle that everyone, no matter the age, appreciates a little Northpole Magic.
Now I want to know: Do you give to any specific charitable organization during Christmas?
You have a good heart. Love your box of goodies for those in need! I will have to check out the Northpole items! The book is perfect for our Elementary schools book drive. We also donate pajamas and canned food this time of year.
I’ve never thought to donate pajamas. That is a great idea. Walmart always has those reasonably priced this time of the year.
Such an inspiring post! What beautiful hearts. 🙂
It’s so great that you are teaching your kids the importance of giving at a young age! We support PIN (people in need) this time of year!
That’s so lovely that you get the whole family involved in good deeds at Christmas. We’re donating socks and mittens this year – but this makes me want to do something more…
What a sweetheart! I am a HUGE fan of Samaritan’s Purse–they do such good work and my kids have made those shoeboxes and really enjoyed the whole experience.
We love to pack shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child!!!
So do we! We have also worked at the processing center, which is awesome!
I love this idea! Service is what it’s all about!
This is so awesome! What a great way to get the kids involved and help them discover the meaning of Christmas. I haven’t seen this show or read the book yet, but I’ll have to add it to our list. Maybe we can share this during the holidays too!
I love this idea! My oldest boy isn’t quite old enough to understand yet but it sure would be nice to start teaching him about giving early 🙂
we love Operation Christmas Child.. we turned out boxes in last week. so much fun!!
I have seen this! Magical!
What a fun idea! I love the Northpole gifts, and while I haven’t seen the movie, I love how you describe it! As soon as my oldest is old enough to understand giving gifts, I think we will have to do something like this!
What a great idea….such an inspiration you are!
What a great idea for the holidays! Thanks for the inspiration to get started.
Love this idea! Great lesson for the kiddos too!
These items are so perfect to gift to charity! I can’t think of a little boy or girl who wouldn’t have a smile on their face because of them! We always gift to Operation Christmas Child, too, as well as picking up a local bag for a child in our town who doesn’t have as much as well do! #client
This is a great idea! Here through our local Salvation Army we have Angel Trees that allow you to pick a child to shop for for Christmas and then you return the items to them and they deliver them.
I love Operation Christmas Child…what a thoughtful way to share the magic this holiday season.
What a lovely gift to give! I’m certain the lucky child will be so happy with his/her gift 🙂
What a great idea! My daughter’s preschool has a shoebox program for the homeless clients the church serves. We like to participate in that.
So sweet 🙂 We do Operation Christmas Child each year, too. And this year, we decided to adopt a family and grant their Christmas wish. Marley is looking forward to picking out gifts for two little girls who otherwise wouldn’t have any gifts on Christmas morning. I love seeing the true meaning of Christmas come out in her!
We love Operation Christmas Child! It’s such a great way to teach our little ones to give to others and start comprehending that Christmas is so much more than receiving gifts. Thanks for sharing your story.
We love this charity! Yay for giving this time of year!
What a great idea! I know a little girl that lives close to us that has been talking about this movie and the communicator, I think we might need to put together a little package too. Thanks for the inspiration!!
What a fun idea and a great way to give back this holiday season!