BECAUSE, AS THE SAYING GOES, IT’S BETTER TO GIVE THAN TO RECEIVE…

And it ‘tis the season of giving, after all. While there are people in need year-round, I speak from personal past experience when I say that the holidays can be an especially tough time. Finding ways to lift others up and add a little festive joy to their life this time of year can truly make a world of difference. Whether through gifts, donations, actions or volunteering there are a variety of ways both big and small to make an impact this time of year. And if you don’t know where or how to get started, I’ve rounded up a variety of ways and places to get you started, below. Happy giving!

*A quick note- I originally put this this list together in 2018 and have continued to update it and add to it since. The most recent update was December 2021.

Ways To Give This Holiday Season

1. Buy a gift that gives back {I have a whole list of ideas here}.

2. Help get a Christmas tree for children and families in need via a place like this or this. You can also donate your old artificial trees, holiday decor, etc. here and they will get it to those who need it most.

3. Gift a monetary donation in the recipient’s name instead of giving them a physical gift {psa- this is the perfect gift for those people on your list who have everything/are hard to shop for}.

4. Sponsor a family over the holidays. {Here are a few sites to check out to find a family to adopt- Volunteers of America; Soldiers’ Angels; Christmas Family Adoption; Doing Good Together; Family Giving Tree}.

5. Donate cold weather gear (think: sweaters, winter jackets, gloves, hats, sleeping bags, etc.) to a homeless shelter.

6. If you live near a Delancey Street Tree lot, purchase your Christmas tree from them. It supports the organization, which helps homeless, former substance abusers, ex-convicts + others to get clean, educated + trained in marketable job skills so that they can successfully live on their own once they leave the program and home. The tree stands, which they’ve been running for over 30 years, is one of the ways they provide job train to some of their residents. Here’s where to find one of their tree lots and here’s more about how the organization works.

7. Donate homemade blankets to children in need. Project Linus provides handmade blankets as gifts to children who are ill, traumatized or otherwise in need. You can find out more info and donate here.

8. Volunteer at a local food pantry or soup kitchen to prepare and/or serve a hot meal. If you don’t know where to go, check out the non-profit organization Feeding America. They make it really easy to find and connect with your local food bank(s), no matter where you are in the United States.

9. Donate a gift, gift card and/or volunteer to wrap presents or respond to letters for underprivileged children, a child in an orphanage or a child with a parent(s) in prison. {Check out Be An Elf ; Prison Fellowship and Salvation Army makes it really easy to get a gift for a child in need}.

10. Donate books to a local vets center or hospital.

11. Send Christmas cards that give back. For card options, check here, here, here, here or here.

12. Buy a gift for a child in the foster care system. This site is for kids in the Los Angeles area, and this one is for those throughout the country.

13. Bring festive floral arrangements to a local hospital or nursing home.

14. Give an alternative gift that has more meaning in honor of a loved one. This site makes it super easy to select from things like solar suitcases, medical needs, bikes, water wells and more.

15. Gather a group of friends and family and go caroling at a local nursing home or children’s hospital.

16. Host a cozy soup night for friends and have everyone bring canned goods to donate to a local food bank.

17. Instead of going on a coffee or cocktail date with a friend, go volunteer together.

18. Bring gently used blankets, sheets and towels to an animal shelter.

19. Write holiday cards to service men and women stationed abroad {additional ways to volunteer for those in the military can be found here}.

20. Buy coffee for the person in line behind or in front of you.

21. For those people living in cold weather climates, offer to shovel a neighbor’s driveway (and for those of us in warm weather, maybe offer to cut someone’s grass instead).

22. Bring holiday cookies to your local fire or police station.

23. Tip extra to a waiter or waitress.

24. Assemble toiletry bags and bring them to a local homeless shelter.

25. Donate a Christmas tree to a military family.

26. Donate unused, new makeup, toiletries and feminine care products to a women’s shelter.

27. Consider getting one extra item whenever you go shopping this season to donate i.e. if you run to the grocery store, grab an extra canned product for a shelter, if you’re ordering something on Amazon, also purchase something from a charity’s wishlist, if you’re at Target, grab a package of socks for a shelter, etc.

28. Invite a friend, co-worker or local college students that may not have family close by over for a meal or out for dinner.

29. Instead of an office gift exchange, or really any gift exchange for any of your holiday parties this time of year, suggest bringing in gifts for a local children’s hospital/orphanage/shelter.

30. Making a cozy dinner? Double the recipe and deliver the extra to a new mom, a homebound friend, an elderly neighbor, etc.

31. Make cards to be included in deliveries for your local chapter of Meals on Wheels.

32. Buy a gift or a blanket for someone at a nursing home who may not have any family.

33. If you’re shopping on Amazon, make sure your account is connected to your favorite charity so that every time you make a purchase, they get a donation.