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How Generous Should One Be At Christmas?

It's only about one month til Christmas--as if people need reminding, eh! The hustle and bustle in the shopping centres has started, and the search is on for that 'perfect gift'. But something else has started as well; the seemingly relentless pressure from charitable organizations for a bite of one's spending. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a scrooge at all. My position is that those who 'have' should share something with the 'have-nots'. I think we who live in the Western World have a lot to be thankful for and more often than not we take that for granted. But, it increasingly seems that more and more charities are springing up; but who has the income to give to all of them? I feel a bit guilty that I can't give to all of the worthy causes that I'd like to. We try to do what we can, however; we buy Fair Trade coffee where possible, we donate things we don't need any more to the charity thrift stores, and for the past few years we've purchased charity Christmas cards. If we had a bit more disposable income, we'd love to sponsor a child in a have-not nation but right now we are unable to do so. But is what we're doing enough?

I think around this time of year, people just kind of tune out to all of these charities. On Friday here in Britain was Children In Need day, which is an annual charity day sponsored by the BBC. People do daft things like sit in tubs of baked beans or custard, or have bake sales and that sort of thing to raise money for disadvantaged children in Britain. It's kind of neat because the stars also get in on the act and there are special editions of television programmes on the day (kind of like a mini-telethon). Millions of pounds are raised every year and I'm sure the money goes to some worthy recipients but I got the impression from customers at work (our store was one of the hundreds of retail outlets who were collecting for Children In Need) that people are just tired of giving. Along with Children In Need, there's Red Nose Day which is held bi-annually which provides funding for worthy causes in the UK and Africa. But there are so many other charities, like Oxfam, Save the Children, Cancer Relief, The Heart Foundation, various animal charities, environmental charities....and I don't know about you, but I feel kind of guilty when I see those heart-wrenching adverts on TV. I have to mute them on many occasions because they cause me to feel a lot of guilt that I just can't simply support all of them.

I guess people have to 'pick their battles' and donate to the causes which are closest to their hearts, but it just seems that this time of year, everyone from charities to the retailers are all encouraging people to part with their money. Granted, spending on a charity will most likely have more beneficial results than lining the coffers of corporations, but for people on a set budget, it's difficult to draw the line on where the money goes.