A Christmas Gift for Rose Gathering and Giving

 

Back in October I reviewed Tricia Goyer's book, A Christmas Gift for Rose.  Last week I got a package from Tricia Goyer with some great Christmas ideas that I just had to share.  Christmas can be a hard season for those who are alone, who have lost loved ones, who are in hospitals.  The Gathering and Giving List gave 10 ideas of things you can do as an individual or as a group.  My church chose to do a couple of them and you know....it really makes the season bright.
1.  Host a food drive and invite local businesses to take part, too. (We did this one and gathered a good bit of food.  We also did this one at school with one of the service clubs and they collected 80,000 pounds of food.)
2.  Host a sock, blanket, or coat drive.
3.  Host a luncheon, brunch, or dinner, and invite those in your neighborhood who might feel lonely during the holidays. (The circuit I serve did this on Saturday.)
4.  Adopt a family for the holidays, and buy each family member a gift.
5.  Organize a fundraiser with your small group or book club for a local charity.
6.  Deliver a meal - or five!- to some families who might be struggling to make ends meet.  Bonus points if the meals are home-cooked!
7.  Visit a nursing home and bring along your church choir to go caroling among the residents. (Our children/youth/and church are doing this next week.  We will be visiting shut ins in the area).
8.  Spend a Saturday serving the homeless at a local shelter. (Our county does it in two areas on Thursday nights).
9.  Gather your family on a chilly morning, and make it your mission to shovel all your neighbors' sidewalks. (I hope we don't have this much snow here in the South.)
10.  Get your church's youth group or Sunday school classes together and put together care packages for soldiers who won't get to be home for the holidays.
**11.  Have a recipe swap with some newlyweds who find themselves having to cook the "big" meal for their family.  This is my own and it happened to me this year.  You will never know how appreciative they will be.
You know if every one did just one what a brighter Christmas this would be for many.  Think about it and I hope you will decide to take on one of these projects.