Ways to give in November: donate PJs!

Yesterday, I posted about some hot deals on holiday PJs right now (check out this post here for the details)!  If you’re looking for a way to give, consider donating some pajamas to needy children.  The Pajama Program delivers warm sleepwear and books to children in needYou can donate your new (tags must be attached) pajamas via the Great Sprout Tuck-In.  If you don’t have actual cash to spend on new pajamas, but you have Amazon gift cards you’ve earned through Swagbucks, you can purchase pajamas that will be shipped directly to The Pajama Program here on Amazon.

For other ideas on ways to give in November, click here.

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Ways to give in November: the gift of time!

With the holidays quickly approaching, time seems to disappear as we hurry, hurry, hurry to get things done.  Give the gift of time to a family member, friend, or neighbor and offer to babysit their children so they can run errands, have a night out, or just get some things done around their house!

For other ideas on ways to give in November, click here.

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Ways to give in November: clean out your closets!

Today’s “way to give in November” is relatively simple – clean out your closets!  Do your children have winter clothing (including coats and jackets) that they have outgrown?  Do you have winter clothing that you will no longer wear?  Clean out your closet and donate your gently used winter clothing to a local homeless shelter, the Salvation Army, Goodwill, or Deseret Industries.  If you have children’s items, you could also check with your local elementary school to see if they have families in need. 

Check out other ideas on how you can give in November here.

*This post may contain affiliate links. Please refer to my disclosure policy for more information.

Ways to Give in November: Operation Christmas Child

As Thanksgiving approaches (and it’s hard for me to believe that it’s November considering our “high” temps here are supposed to be in the 80s today!), I want to focus this month not only for the things that I am grateful for, but also on ways that we can give to others.  I’ll be sharing an idea each day of something that you can do to give to others.  Some of the ideas are very simple and others are a bit more involved.  I’m looking forward to sharing these activities with my family, too.

Today I’ll be focusing on Operation Christmas Child.  I first heard about this program two years ago. My two children are one of my greatest blessings, and I always sad this time of year as I think about all of the children who have so little, including the basics.  Samaritan’s Purse via Operation Christmas Child provided shoe boxes with gifts to 8 million children last year!  The concept of Operation Christmas Child is a simple one:  all you do is pack a shoebox to send to a child in need.  You can choose to send a box to a child within the following age groups:  2-4, 5-9, and 10-14.  We’ll be doing a box for a 2-4 year old boy since my son falls in that age group, a 5-9 year old girl since my daughter falls in that age group, and then my husband and I will fill a box for a 10-14 year old (haven’t decided yet if that one will be a boy or a girl). 

There are gift ideas provided here on the site.  You may have a number of the items in your stockpile already (hygiene items such as toothbrushes and toothpaste, school supplies such as crayons, pens, pencils, and pencil sharpeners, and small toys). I plan to give each of my children some money so that they can pick out a few items themselves to include in the box for their child.  You can also include letters and/or pictures.  They also ask for a $7 donation per box to cover the cost of shipping.  You can drop off your donations the week of November 15th-22nd.  You can find donation locations here.

If this sounds like a fun project for your family, you can find all the details about Operation Christmas Child here.

Let me know if your family decides to participate!  Please feel free to share other ways your family is giving this month, too!

*This post may contain affiliate links. Please refer to my disclosure policy for more information.