Wedding Woes

What do y'all think of this idea?

1. DH and I talk a lot about our kids, and not wanting them to be spoiled.  And then I spent hours trying to reorganize the playroom and clear out stuff they have outgrown or don't play with, in preparation for the incoming wave of Christmas presents.  So, kind of spoiled.   

2. I have mentioned that I love our neighborhood.  It feels like an actual, cohesive neighborhood--we know our neighbors, our kids play together, it's a great place.

3. Since becoming Room Mom, I've gotten good at Sign Up Genius.  (Not that it takes much, but I've gone from knowing nothing, to being able to do stuff.)

4. Our county does a Christmas Bureau through the Dept. of Social Services where groups can sponsor a family.  (Anything from a single mom and one kid, to a big family.)  They ask that you donate at least one outfit and two toys per kid, plus Christmas dinner (either the actual food, or a grocery gift card.) 

What if I organized the neighborhood to sponsor a family for Christmas?  I personally know at least 10 families, and if you throw in people they know in our neighborhood, I think we should have enough people sign up to make this work.  Then we would have something good that we do as a neighborhood--like Been Booed, except with less sugar high and more generosity.  And it would be one more thing to discuss with my kids: kindness, giving, appreciating the things you have.

What do you think?  Crazy, or plausible?  

Re: What do y'all think of this idea?

  • :) I think it's a great idea. Plus, the kids can know that they are helping other kids in need. You should do it.
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  • I think it's a terrific idea! The families that you're helping will benefit and the kids will benefit from helping people in need.
  • I also think it's a great idea. I think there are a number of people out there kind of like me - I like to be generous and charitable but I'm also lazy and forgetful with that kind of thing. So if you came to me and said you were doing this, I'd be more than happy to help. But I wouldn't have gone out and found something like that to do.
    Image result for someecard betting someone half your shit youll love them forever
  • I really like the idea! Would you consider multiple families if the commitment to help was great enough?

    OMG, if I were lucky enough to have enough people on board, definitely!  Right now, I would be happy to have a few neighbors sign up, but having enough for multiple families would be awesome.
  • I think it could definitely work :)
  • I think it's a great idea!

    I'm like SSC. If you came to me with an idea/plan to give to an honest, local charity I would be happy to participate, as I don't always know where to find these myself. But I also wouldn't be too bummed if a lot of your neighbours say no, as many work places will do the same thing (sponsor a family). My work is sponsoring a family this year- and it was organized by another co-work, but I am happy to contribute.
  • I love this idea. I'm like SSC and SP29 also. I love participating in things like this but I often forget to come up with my own ideas or don't know where to look. I think it's a great teaching moment for the kids to learn about generosity

  • We do something similar at work - I plan the holiday adopt-a-family and we all contribute to adopting 3-4 area foster kids for Christmas.  The local foster care agency gives us the age/gender/preferences for each kid and they ask that we buy a few toys and at least one outfit.  Since no one in my office likes to shop, I collect all the money and buy everything on Black Friday (I got 2 pairs of Beats headphones for $65 each last week which will make for a happy 14 and 17 year old).  

    I would say start small (with just a few recipients) and if you have a lot of participation, just call your contact and request another family.  

  • See. You already have a family on board. Yay!
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  • See. You already have a family on board. Yay!


    I know, but I have this crippling fear of not getting anyone else, and then it will just be us and this other family.  (Who are very cool, for sure.  Wooz plays with their son, and he's a good kid.)  And then I will feel like a complete failure, and I'll have to call social services and say "Send me the smallest family you have, because my plan flopped."

    Hopefully, it's not a realistic fear.  I went through the same thing with Wooz's class Halloween party, and that turned out fine.  So fingers crossed for more volunteers.

  • You won't fail doing something kind for another family.:)


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  • Really nice idea!  :)
  • I, too, think it is a great idea. Our church sponsors multiple families as does our dance studio. We help in both places. We started participating when our now adult children were small. I had them help pick out the gifts for whoever we had. Very teachable moment.
  • We do something similar at work.  We have a tree with tags that has gift ideas.   This year we (dh and me) pulled a remote control car for a 3 year old and a sweater for a 16 year old (med).   

    I think it's a great way to teach kids about volunteering. 








    What differentiates an average host and a great host is anticipating unexpressed needs and wants of their guests.  Just because the want/need is not expressed, doesn't mean it wouldn't be appreciated. 
  • It's a great idea. Participation could go either way but go for it. I do recommend going for it soon. some places around here have already had the donation deadline.

    if it seems to late for Christmas you could look to senior centers for valentines or back to school drives. I know one place does end of year. 
  • 6fsn said:
    It's a great idea. Participation could go either way but go for it. I do recommend going for it soon. some places around here have already had the donation deadline.

    if it seems to late for Christmas you could look to senior centers for valentines or back to school drives. I know one place does end of year. 
    Good point.   Ours was due today.






    What differentiates an average host and a great host is anticipating unexpressed needs and wants of their guests.  Just because the want/need is not expressed, doesn't mean it wouldn't be appreciated. 
  • Not crazy at all!  It's a lovely sentiment and I wish people would think of this more often. 

    I'm participating in a similar 'sponsor' set up and I've done so in the past.  I've done angel tree through work and my family sponsored a family one year.  I think we found the first family through the United Way.  The family we're sponsoring this year (tween girl and her mom) is a friend of a friend (church friend, I think).  I think there are 4-6 of us contributing.  Everyone is just buying one or two things for each and then we're also providing breakfast items (like my cinnamon rolls) so they don't have to do anything Christmas morning but enjoy. ;)  I am loving doing it for someone who is known because I was able to really personalize what I got for them.  Also with several people contributing, the contribution isn't that much from each person/family. 
  • Heffalump said:
    I love this idea. I'm like SSC and SP29 also. I love participating in things like this but I often forget to come up with my own ideas or don't know where to look. I think it's a great teaching moment for the kids to learn about generosity

    That's what I was hoping for, and then as I was typing out my nail-biting response to NOLA, I realized it's also a great teachable moment for going out on a limb.  Wooz, especially, is the kind of kid who doesn't want to try something if she's not sure she'll succeed.  So I'm going to model trying something new and not knowing if it will work out (and being okay with that), as well as giving to people in need.

    Still, it would be nice to model it all working out great in the end. :)  "And we had so many volunteers we had to ask for two more families, and we all lived happily ever after."

    YES! I love this. What a great perspective and a great lesson to teach Wooz.

  • I think it sounds like a terrific idea, and a great way to teach your kids about giving and kindness to others.
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  • Heffalump said:
    Okay, so I was despairing over in the Tuesday Bluesday thread, but it turns out I just needed more patience.  (Story of my life, LOL.)  As of lunchtime, we have 8 families including us.  Now I just need Social Services to call me back.  If I don't hear from the contact by about 3:00, I'll try her again.  (S/O being patient!)  I don't want to be a pest, but now that I have people on board, I want to make sure everyone has enough time to shop and we can deliver everything on time.
    WAHOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • Heffalump said:
    SP29 said:
    I think it's a great idea!

    I'm like SSC. If you came to me with an idea/plan to give to an honest, local charity I would be happy to participate, as I don't always know where to find these myself. But I also wouldn't be too bummed if a lot of your neighbours say no, as many work places will do the same thing (sponsor a family). My work is sponsoring a family this year- and it was organized by another co-work, but I am happy to contribute.

    I did think about that, it's a very good point.  (My office collects items for a Children's Home nearby.  This year, we're focusing on teens since they often get overlooked in favor of toy donations.)  I know some churches sponsor families, and the Y has an angel tree, so I don't want to add to people's pile of obligations or anything.

    Okay, y'all gave me the nudge I needed to take a deep breath and send a note.  So far, we have one family in. :) 

    that's the thing that would make me cautious about the whole thing, but i'm glad that your neighbors were super supportive. 

  • It's a know your neighborhood type thing.  

    IMO - if you search your family and friends of friends, you know someone who falls through the cracks and doesn't qualify for this type of help or assistance - HELP THEM!  Someone that could use a grocery cart/freezer full of food to help them through the winter and give them that little bit of "we'll get through this!" hope.  Start there first.  For someone in that situation the someone noticed them - you don't realize how much that one little act of kindness means!  
  • Heffalump said:
    Okay, so I was despairing over in the Tuesday Bluesday thread, but it turns out I just needed more patience.  (Story of my life, LOL.)  As of lunchtime, we have 8 families including us.  Now I just need Social Services to call me back.  If I don't hear from the contact by about 3:00, I'll try her again.  (S/O being patient!)  I don't want to be a pest, but now that I have people on board, I want to make sure everyone has enough time to shop and we can deliver everything on time.

    Does your area have private non-profit agencies that provide foster and adoption services in addition to the state?  My area has these and they are often times more into the "extras" like making sure their foster kids have a good Christmas.  We go through a non-profit that provides foster care services to kids with developmental and emotional needs that the state system is unable to address.  We give to the kids and to their foster parents.  If social services doesn't get back to you, this could be a good option.


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