twin babies

The Gift of Giving

Christmas is a fabulous time of year. It’s a pity that some decide to make it a stressful time rather than enjoying it for the joyful season which it represents. For some, presents take precedence over quality time spent together. Having everything just perfect on the day becomes a stress for some. Seriously, I’ve been over having roast turkey and Christmas pudding on a hot Australian Christmas a long, long time ago. For the previous Christmas meals, I think I’ve enjoyed a bbq. If we were here this Christmas, it would be a bbq again. We’re heading to the cold this year so it’s going to be a warm roast meal again.

Magic Christmas

We still want to keep the magic of Christmas alive for our kids. They’re not fans of roast turkey and pudding either but presents will be sitting under the tree for them. We’ll keep it this way as long as they are children. For hubby and I, we’ve come to the agreement where we have decided to donate the money which we would spend on gifts for each other. We have a couple of charities which we regularly donate to. It’s the happiness of those recipients which makes us happier than anything which we could buy for each other.

We have a handful of charities which we support. It’s mostly for underprivileged children or refugees and asylum seekers. My family were refugees many years ago and were very grateful for the kindness of others. It’s our turn to return the kindness. We’ve built a beautiful life for ourselves and our children so we’re wanting to give others a chance to do the same.

Giving to those in need

Recently, in my little boy’s school newsletter, I read about a family of refugees from Burma who had only been here for a short time and were expecting twins. They were asking if anyone could donate something to help them out. It’s nice to donate money to charities, it’s also really nice to be able to donate directly to a family in need. The woman from Ames (an association which helps integrate refugees and asylum seekers into the community), who is looking after the family, asked me if I wanted to meet the family and give my donations to them myself. It was an unexpected surprise to be able to meet them.

After a couple of meetings, I’m taken by this lovely family. They remind me so much of what we were like when we were in their shoes. These people are so grateful to be here in Australia after living in India for eight years, waiting to get transferred. It’s an exciting new start to life with their eight year old daughter and newborn twin boys. Australians have shown a lot of kindness and generosity towards them. For us, helping this family to settle into life in Australia is what giving is all about. Helping others will keep us grounded and focused on what is important in this materialistic world. Giving to those in need is the best gift we could ever give to anyone.

Have a safe and Merry Christmas everyone. Thank you for following our journey.

 

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