Everyone loves the holiday season: celebrating with family, eating too much food, and getting presents for friends and family. Everyone should be able to enjoy the holidays, no matter what. Even if someone’s family is going through a rough time and can’t buy a plane ticket, or if a family has to focus on other needs instead of Christmas presents, they shouldn’t be excluded from the holiday fun. 

 This is why giving back is the best gift you can give. Giving back allows others to enjoy the lively times with their families without having to worry about other expenses. Not only will this help others, but it will make the person giving back feel satisfied and they can recognize the privilege it is to be able to help others.

    There are many ways someone can give back for the holidays, even some that people may not think about. A person could donate to a charity, volunteer, or even go around town and help people put their groceries away. There is always a way to help someone and make their holidays more cheerful.

    Donating to a charity is a super helpful way to support others who are struggling or just need an extra hand during the holidays. Open Door Mission, an organization in Omaha, has many ways to donate to others. This organization has been helping others since 1954, and continues to support others with the help of the community.

One project they have is the Project Santa Drive, where donors can shop for others from the comfort of their own home. The organization has a link on their website to an amazon wish list, allowing anyone to buy things like gift cards, toy cars, baby dolls, and other gifts for families to enjoy. They also have another amazon wish list for Thanksgiving, where anyone can buy food to help homeless people enjoy Thanksgiving.

    Another way to help uplift spirits during the holidays is through volunteering. Open Door Mission also has many volunteer opportunities, including serving people food and helping people buy gifts. For example, they have food banquets where anybody can serve food to people on Thanksgiving and Christmas at the Men’s Center or the Lydia House.

They also have their Toy n’ Joy, where anyone thirteen and up can be a personal shopper and help parents find toys for their kids. Also included with their Toy n’ Joy is the opportunity to be a toy attendant. This is where people stock shelves with toys for parents and children to look through and take home for Christmas. 

The Timberlake Outreach Center also has an opportunity to stock shelves for a food pantry. All in all, volunteering and donating can be as easy as a google search, making helping during the holidays easier than ever. Websites offered by the Open Door Mission and Heartland Hope Mission allow anyone to look up their services and fill out a form online to sign up. Signing up takes very little time, but can make a huge impact on a whole family.

    Others may not have the time to volunteer at a banquet, or have the money to buy presents for others, and there is nothing wrong with that. There are easier ways to spread joy to others that still give the same impact. For example, anyone can go make brownies and give them to a neighbor or, write a letter to a teacher saying that they appreciate them. There is also always the option to donate to The Salvation Army before going into a store like Family Fare or Walmart.

The easiest people to help are your own families. Anyone can help their family set the dinner table on Thanksgiving, or wrap presents for siblings or other family members. No matter how little someone does this season, giving back is always the right option.