Celebrating togetherness during the holiday season

The markets in Ecuador are lined with beautiful and unique gift ideas

With the holiday season rolling around, I’ve started to think about gift giving once again.

Gift giving has been a part of society since the earliest civilizations. One of the most well known gift theorists, Marcel Mauss, says that every time you give a gift, a piece of your identity is carried to the receiver. But throughout the world, gift giving during the holiday season is done in very different ways.  

In North America, it can sometimes feel like gifts are ranked more by price than thought. As consumers and gift givers, we can make conscious decisions about the gifts we choose to give, the messages we want to send and who we support with our purchases.

This summer, while on a Leaders Today trip to volunteer in Ecuador , I decided to make an impact with my holiday shopping. I purchased gifts for my family from local workers, knowing that the money I was spending was not only going to bring my family joy, but was also precious income for the workers.

Shopping wisely isn’t something you can only do overseas, we can make informed purchases right here at home.

There are many ways to give and be socially responsible at the same time, like making a handmade card out of recycled paper, giving your time to help a neighbour, buying fair trade chocolate for a friend or supporting socially conscious companies.

Giving material goods isn’t the only way to celebrate the holidays and your loved ones, either. In Ecuador the importance of family and friends was apparent everywhere. During the Pase del Niño Viajero celebration, families gather together to watch the parade and celebrate the true meaning of the holiday season: togetherness.

The families in Ecuador inspired me to celebrate the holidays in a way that would also reflect the true meaning of the season. This Christmas, my friends and I will be celebrating our friendship and the concept of giving by volunteering at a local foodbank and helping our less fortunate neighbours.

We all have gifts to give, whether they are actions we take or material objects we purchase. By making conscious decisions in giving, the message that we leave with the gift receiver can be one of social action and change!

Megan Sullivan
International Trips Coordinator

Free The Children is the largest network of children helping children through education in the world, with more than one million youth involved in our innovative education and development programs in 45 countries. Founded by international child rights activist Craig Kielburger, Free The Children has an established track-record of success, with three nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize and partnerships with the United Nations and Oprah’s Angel Network.