Making Seasons Bright Through Charity

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #BIGSeason #BigLots #CollectiveBias

One of my favorite parts of the holiday season is the joy I feel in giving. Receiving gifts is great but there’s this particular feeling I get when I give to someone that far outweighs my joy in receiving. We typically give to a wonderful charity called Child’s Play but we wanted to give to a more local charity this year. We chose the Ronald McDonald House of Indiana to contribute a care package of which I was lucky enough to find everything all at one store, Big Lots.

When I looked up how to donate to the Ronald McDonald House of Indiana, I found a wishlist of their top 10 items needed as well as a running list of various items the families need during their stay. Sophie and I headed over to Big Lots with our list and budget in mind and was able to purchase an awesome assortment for the care package.

Making Season’s Bright Through Charity

Care Package Necessities:

• Paper plates
• Paper bowls
• Hand soap
• Laundry detergent
• Disinfectant wipes
• Water bottle
• Dryer sheets
• Kids toothbrush
• Thank you cards
• Notepad
• Coloring pad
• Colored pencils
• Pencil sharpener
• Art pouch
• Puzzle
• Christmas socks
• Bows
• Chocolate
• Snuggle blanket

I wanted to make sure there were necessities as well as luxury items while they’re away from home. I’d made a simple tie blanket that Sophie and Lexi loved ‘helping’ me make. They gave it lots of hugs so the families using it will feel loved while they’re snuggling.

Sophie was also very insistent on helping me to put the basket together for the families. She did a great job fitting everything in the basket and I loved her pride in knowing that she was being a big helper. I know she won’t remember making this basket for the families but we want to make sure she’s growing up with a generous heart and will continue to make a basket each year.

Once I’d re-organized the care package a bit, I put everything in a big holiday bag and excitedly took it downtown to the Ronald McDonald home. I was greeted by a volunteer named Peggy who graciously took the care package and offered to take me on a tour of the home. The next 20 minutes I was blown away by the organization and wanted to give much more than a care package.

I encourage you to visit your local Ronald McDonald home for a tour and learn about what a wonderful charity it is for families in need. I was so thankful to have been able to spend a small amount of money at Big Lots that meant a great deal to the families staying at the Ronald McDonald House of Indiana this holiday season.

Style and assortments vary by store, so if you’re going to make your own, you may not find exactly what we did but they have a great assortment of brands to choose from. Go help make someone’s season’s bright by going to Big Lots this year.