Generosity, the True Santa

Happy Holidays To ALL! The magic is in the air and the stress is in the mall. The financial picture has eased it seems and consumerism rules but generosity is plentiful too. The holidays may get people crazy with finding the perfect gift and believing it is of critical importance but fear not. People always find a way to give to others of their time, money, gifts and love.

The magic is evident when you donate a warm coat, drop off a new toy, choose a family to give to instead of office gift exchanges, share your favorite family cookie recipe, say a prayer of thanks and bring out those ornaments that bring back some warm memories. Sometimes the holidays heal old family wounds and bring hearts once thought gone forever back into the fold.

We at Answers In Motion make a point of donating all year long to needy organizations that can utilize our star product Thumball in a meaningful way. We go further in December and give larger donations to special places where children, the aging and the ill reside. A feeling grows inside of us and a Santa like fullness is our experience. Christmas would be meaningless to us without generosity and it can fill you up better than cookies and milk but the holidays would not be the same without those either.

Cutting Back Can Bring Things Together

Plenty of chat about the economy this holiday season and it starts on a somber note. People recognize they can not spend as much as in past years and initially it seems like a bad thing. Then they remark on how reducing the Christmas list had to be done and kinda makes sense anyway.

Sometimes this leads on to seeing the value in the gifts, the feast and the tree more because it was more dear to obtain. Others see that the holidays really are not just a consumer driven carnival after all (thank you Charlie Brown, Linus and all). Ultimately they see the season in a new way. New is good, different is useful and we didn't really need another talking snow globe any way.

Challenging the status quo and moving beyond the business as usual thinking can result in holiday surprises. Special foods taste better, shiny bows look brighter, snowflakes shimmer and our families sit a lot closer together when the heat is turned down. That is a cozy answer to a Christmas with more spending limits but no limits on family, love and time to share our hearts.