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Give Back on Giving Tuesday
Have you joined the Giving Tuesday movement? The day after Cyber Monday is now dedicated to giving back. Settle on a cause as a family—you can find over 85,000 to choose from on CanadaHelps.org—and then research your chosen one together. It's important to find out what's near and dear to your kids' heart—whether it's animals, the environment or children around the world lacking the essentials of life, if it's important to them, they will be inspired to help.
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Give the Gift of Time Where It's Needed
Contact your local volunteer centre to find out the best match for volunteers in your area, and consult this guide to help your family choose what's important to them.
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Open Your Home
Invite a foreign student or a family new to Canada to your holiday dinner. The kids can share their favourite foods and traditions and learn about others' favourites in return.
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Give the Gift of Food
Take the family to serve food at a food bank over the holidays or prepare sandwiches or baked goods with your family's favourite recipes and drop them off at a local homeless shelter.
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Pack It Up
As a family, pack an Operation Christmas Child shoebox of gifts for a boy or girl in need abroad (in 2012 over 660,000 shoeboxes were donated by Canadians).
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Help Thy Neighbour
As a family, offer to help a neighbor in need with shoveling snow, picking up groceries or other holiday errands.
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It's About the Toys
Enlist the toy experts in your family to choose toys they know kids will love, shop together and then drop them off together at your local toy drive collection centre. You might even encourage them to donate part of their allowance to the toy fund.
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Share Your Companionship
Read to, sing carols with or simply visit senior citizens in a local home to share the holiday spirit with them at what can be a lonely time of year for those away from their families.
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Don't Forget the Animals
Help walk animals at a local animal shelter and give the regular volunteers a bit of a holiday break. It's almost as good as giving the kids that puppy they've been asking for all year long!
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Warm Them Up
Go through your house as a family and gather up unused hats, mittens and winter outerwear and donate to a local winter clothing drive.
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Give the Gift Card that Gives Back
If you're stuck buying a gift for the person who has everything, or the person who wants nothing, the CanadaHelps.org gift card allows the recipient to give their funds to the charity of their choice.