‘Tis the Season
Ah, the most wonderful time of year is finally upon us. Food, gift giving, family, Santa—oh, and have I mentioned food—what’s not to like? There are parties, 
trips to the mall, lots of internet shopping and everybody’s in a good mood, right? And it’s during this special season that we think of those less fortunate (which is mostly everyone, since we are the most fortunate in the world). We give food to the food banks, and donate clothes to the homeless shelters, and give money to our favorite charities. We drop some spare change into the Salvation Army kettle, and the really nice people even serve food in the soup kitchens. Wow, gift giving and helping those in need really warms the heart, especially during these cold months.
Which leads me to a very important question. Do the homeless only need shelter and clothes around Christmas? Do the hungry only need food during the holidays? Do less fortunate people only need help now? What about the rest of the year? Those are, of course, rhetorical questions, as the obvious answer is no. Those less fortunate need help all year round. Unfortunately, we only focus on them now because we feel somewhat guilty wallowing in our largess, overspending, overgifting and overeating.
So here’s my idea. The first of every month, when you’re paying your bills, include a charity as one of the monthly payments you have to make. Just think! By this time next year, you will have contributed to at least 12 charities, and have made a real difference in other’s lives all year round. There’ll be a bounce in your step, as it will really enhance your next holiday season, and you’ll feel compelled to do even more for charity during the final months of 2015. And while you’re overindulging during Christmastime, you will carry around much less guilt, since you will have helped those in need all 12 months. You will be rightly justified when cramming that extra cupcake into your mouth at next year’s holiday party, without even the slightest feeling of guilt.
Now, there’s the age-old question of how much to give. How much is enough? Is enough, enough? Do you give until it hurts? No, this shouldn’t be a painful exercise. You should give until you feel it. That, of course, assumes you have feelings, which may be a stretch for some.
Why don’t you make this your New Year’s resolution? To learn more about gift giving, you may want to buy a copy of the famous book, Sure Dad, You Know Everything, for the extremely low price of $19.95 (for all 623 pages, including fabulous illustrations). And what a coincidence, you can simply order it right here on this very website. Oh, and speaking of New Year’s Resolutions, you can also add this one: Tell everyone you know to buy this book (was that too subtle?). Not only will you be enhancing hundreds of lives, but you will also help us rid our garage of millions of books. Actually, you can make that your primary resolution, and one you won’t break so easily. And yes, we are shameless promoters.
Seriously, from all of us at Sure Dad, we wish you a wonderful holiday season and a happy and healthy 2015.
Tagged as: Sure Dad Book • Sure Dad You Know Everything