The season of giving.
The Christmas season often is referred to as the season of giving, and with good reason. More people contribute to or volunteer at churches, homeless shelters, food banks and other charitable organizations during the holiday season than any other time of year.
There is no shortage of needs to fill or opportunities to serve. From coat drives to angel trees to Salvation Army collection buckets, opportunities to give back to the community are everywhere.
These are all wonderful ways to serve others, but sometimes God calls us to step out of our comfort zones and serve in new and creative ways.
Here are some ideas on ways to love where you are this Christmas season.
Give to new moms:
Make or buy "Baby's First Christmas" gifts for your local pregnancy center. Have an ornament decorating party and make ornaments to celebrate new moms, buy Christmas pajamas for little ones or donate children's Bibles.
Invite people over.
Host a Christmas party for Widows and widowers or people who don't have family members to visit. If all of your neighbors will be gone for the holidays, invite""'them over beforehand for a Christmas de-stress party and play games, watch a movie or even do at home spa treatments to take a break from the holiday stress.
Decorate.
Give your neighbors a hand and help them put up their Christmas decorations, and then help them take them down after Christmas.
Celebrate those who have to work on Christmas.
Make care packages for nurses working on Christmas Day and include snacks and letters of encouragement, or have your kids make and decorate Christmas cards.
If you feel led to give financially, make a tradition of going out eat with family to a restaurant open on Christmas day and leave a generous tip for your waiter or waitress.
Listen
A great way to love where you are is to listen to the people around you. If a. friend, relative, coworker or neighbor has a need, the best Way to find out how to fill it is to talk to them and hear what they have to say.