Toys For Tots

Since this blog has become like a journal for me, I wanted to write about something the kids and I did last week before I forget about it. It was a special experience, and while I don't have any photos to go along with it (*forehead slap!), I still want to document it, so to speak.

A few weeks ago when we were sorting and purging a lot of the toys at our house, I came across a gift that Pyper had gotten for her birthday that she still hadn't opened. I mentioned to her the idea of donating it to Toys For Tots and explained how it works. She said she'd think about it, but I could tell she wasn't thrilled with the idea of giving away something that someone had given to her.

Recently our family was invited to participate in a group Family Home Evening with some friends. We'd be going to a local Marine Reserve center to help fill orders for Toys For Tots. I'd never done that before but several of our friends had and just loved it. Aaron was in Mexico last week so it was just me and the kids that could go. When I told the kids about it, Pyper said that she wanted to bring her unopened birthday gift so that someone else could have it.

We herded all of our families into the big room where they work on filling the orders and my kids' eyes bulged. One of the Marines there explained what needed to go in each order and where to put them when we were done. So we grabbed a shopping cart, chose an order and got started. The very first one we picked was for 4 boys of various ages, so we went to the "boy" section, found the box with toys for the appropriate age and picked one big toy, a couple of small toys, a stuffed animal, an art & craft item and 2 books per child.

We did this over and over, filling these big plastic trash bags with toys and puzzles and books, then stapling them closed with the order form and piling them into bins. For one of the orders we filled we got to include the gift that Pyper donated, which was pretty satisfying for her.

I admit, my children didn't immediately grasp the concept that none of the toys in that big room would be coming home with them, and occasionally got a little grumpy about it. But once they got the hang of the idea it didn't take long for them to get excited about picking out toys that they thought another child would like, especially if it was a child their own age.

I'm not sure how long we were there, but we finished several orders and managed to have a really good time doing it! Afterwards we enjoyed cookies and cocoa in the parking lot with our friends then headed home.

What a wonderful opportunity to do some service, especially right now when most kids (including mine) have a very "me, me, me" kind of attitude. I was glad they had a chance to think about someone else for a change. I did my best to explain where those toys would go and who would be getting them. Now they know that there are kids out there who need help to have a Christmas and they felt good about helping them.