Christmas shoe box

It's the time of the year... the five year old is excited and has been talking about the presents she is expecting from Santa. I can imagine the happiness when looking at the kids open the presents Christmas morning, when decorating cookies with Heidi, when enjoying the feast at the dinner table. It's so close and real. But, I can't help thinking about those families that are in need of food, those kids who don't have a single present. There are a lot, a lot of families and kids like that. We are not rich, but we have a house, we have more than enough to eat. The girls have 10 bins of new toys they have not yet opened because their playroom is running out of space...

It's not easy to teach a five year old about the not so pleasant side of the world, and about giving to others. She jokes around while I am actually serious. I showed her pictures of the kids who will receive the shoe boxes. She ran around the house happily singing 'I am poor people!' She will get it some day.

Saturday morning, Heidi and I spent one and half hours working on the shoe box. I did most of the work, but she helped fill in the box. She was interested in this about 10 minutes. But she made a card for the 5 year old girl, which is sweet.
We didn't pun the lotion in; it's not allowed. We added two card sets instead.

Our church is not collecting the shoe boxes this year. I searched the drop off location, and there's one just 3 miles from us. Cool! We dropped it off and Heidi got a sticker. She never talked about it ever since. I know we will be doing this every year. She will remember it and finally understand the whole idea when she's a little older. Iris will join us when she is 3 years old.