This year my daughter proudly announced that her wish for Christmas was for everyone to have food, clothing, and shelter, and for Santa to provide needy children with toys for Christmas. I told her while it was certainly a wonderful sentiment and one I wish could come true, it was also a mighty big wish and a little hard to ensure that everyone that needed it could have food, clothing, and shelter – even for Santa to fulfill. However, I explained that sometimes little steps can be made to help out in the best way you can, so we decided to try our best to make a small dent and help a needy family this holiday season. We got additional help thanks to the generosity of Kohl’s who pitched in and provided us with a gift card to go shopping and pay it forward in whichever manner we deemed fit. Here’s how our experience in shopping for an adopted family for the holidays went.
After asking around, we found out there was a family in need of help this Christmas right at my daughter’s school. Many schools keep track of their families and try to help during the holidays and other special occasions, so if you’re ever looking to help, you may want to start at your children’s school! The school’s office provided us with general information (family size, ages, genders, clothing sizes) as to maintain the family’s privacy intact and said they appreciated anything we could provide. I asked for a wish list beyond clothing, but was only able to get the Rainbow Loom named as it seemed the two girls in the family hadn’t expressed much to the school secretary in their conversations. I did learn they were pretty excited about their soon-to-be-born baby sister, due any time around Christmas! I imagine that in and of itself will be a big Christmas gift for their family!
My daughter and I went shopping at Kohl’s and we were able to pick out two outfits for each of the two older girls, a jewelry box for each, a duct tape craft kit for each, a Monster High fashion design journal book, and a Kohl’s Cares Peanuts hardcover book. For the baby, we found a set of 4 bodysuits, two mix-and-match outfits, a pack of socks, and a rattle toy that can also attach to the car seat. Though I know that as a mom, you give anything and everything for your kids and go without for yourself, I thought it would be nice to get the mom a little something too, so we picked out a blouse for her and my daughter added a mini massager to go with it to help her relax a little. Since Kohl’s doesn’t sell a version of the Rainbow Loom, we purchased that separately at another store to be sure they received the one thing they had actually added to their wish list. I do hope this family likes everything we chose for them – I admit it’s hard to shop for someone you don’t know, but we definitely wanted to help make their Christmas a little brighter.
If you want to show a little kindness this holiday season and help pay it forward, you can do so at Kohl’s by purchasing some of their Kohl’s Cares merchandise. For just $5, you can buy hardcover books featuring Peanuts characters and classic stories, plus Peanuts plush toys, like Snoopy and Woodstock. You can also find a Peanuts jigsaw puzzle, the Holiday Cheer cookbook, and Upon the Winter Solstice, a holiday CD by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. For each Kohl’s Cares purchase, Kohl’s donates 100% of the net profit to children’s health and education initiatives worldwide. Just think of how many books or plush toys you can purchase to donate to a local homeless, women’s shelter, or Toys for Tots box at just $5 each, plus 100% of those net profits will also be put to good use!
I was so proud that my daughter’s wish this holiday season was for others to have what she has every day. Though it would have been nice to have fulfilled her entire Christmas wish, I’m glad we were able to help at least one family and brighten their Christmas. I thank Kohl’s for helping us pay it forward this holiday season and allowing us to show kindness at a time when we can get caught up in the chaos of it all.
How are you paying it forward or showing kindness this holiday season? Share with us in the comments or join the social conversation using #ShowKindness on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram!
Disclosure: Kohl’s provided a gift card for purchasing donation items in order to Pay it Forward in my local community. No compensation received.
All photos © Melanie Edwards/modernmami™
BE LOYAL ALL ways remember those you love. And help those in need when you can. Sharing is better than having. Smile to strangers. Help people every chance you get, it will come back if you do not expect it to when you need it to. Love is all we need, with a little heart we can do anything.
Help out every chance you get be kind to all give when you can be loyal to those whom you love
We always grab a few names from angel trees around town. I like to involve my son so he can experience true Christmas joy.
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