Hearts of gratitude

I am struggling with how to instill in my children a sense of appreciation, thankfulness and gratitude this Christmas season. Christmas for my family is about celebrating Jesus’ birth. Sure, the presents are exciting and Santa is magical, but really it is about sacrifice, generosity, humbleness, humility, gratitude, love, affection and forgiveness.

How, in our society of material goods, do I make sure these messages are communicated to my children who are 4 and 6 years of age? They are at the perfect age of fantasies, of surprises, of toys, of gifts… As parents, we desire to give to our children, but I fear in that process, we have overshadowed the real meaning of Christmas. AND, at times, I sense my children have developed a feeling of entitlement when it comes to ‘stuff’. YUCK!

You know those toy catalogs that are mailed to your homes? We have received plenty of them, and I’m telling you the sharpie has gotten a work out creating their wish lists! Part of it, I know, is their age. I get that. What kid doesn’t love paging through toy catalogs? The truth is that I am guilty of paging through the adult toy catalogs that come weekly. You know, Best Buy, Target, Macys, Wal-Mart… ads? I admit it. I’m a circular junkie. I haven’t broken out the sharpie, but it is no different. Shoot! I haven’t really looked at this behavior as a negative one, but what has it been teaching my children?

I HOPE, for the most part, I have modeled the above characteristics for my children, but I wonder sometimes what else I can be doing. I want to provide opportunities for them to practice. The question I have is HOW?

Wikipedia defined this, “Gratitude, thankfulness, or appreciation is a positive emotion or attitude in acknowledgment of a benefit that one has received or will receive.”

One of my neighbors has an amazing tradition, and maybe my family can try it this year. Each child receives a gift of money from their grandparents. The gift the children give back to their grandparents is to use that money to bless someone else. It is up to each child how they choose to spend it, but their gift back to their grandparents is to describe what they did with the money and how they blessed another person/family. Isn’t that cool? Instilling a desire to give can only stir up the emotion of gratitude, right? Definitely a start.

I would love to hear from others what traditions your families have, and how you have succeeded in teaching your children this important lesson. I welcome all the wisdom of our friends who have ‘been there’!