Building a Stronger Community: Make Extra and Share

This was originally posted on my blog, The World We Wish For, enjoy!

We are coming into a period of time where multiple religious and secular holidays converge, along with all of the things that go with holidays and celebrations. Many of these celebrations include food. Some include the giving of gifts. In both cases, some of us go overboard (I'm looking at you cookie bakers everywhere!).  Instead of lamenting how much of what you baked, cooked, canned, pickled, etc is going to go to waste (or to "waist" if you, like me, try to eat it all yourself) why not share it. You could make your neighbor's day with a box of your special cookies. You could deliver some goodies to a school, office or shelter. No matter where you decide to share the fruits of your labor, they will be appreciated!

Now, I hear some of you telling me that you don't bake, cook, can, pickle...I get it, no problem. Do you knit, crochet or sew? Check with local shelters and schools. They are often looking for scarves, mittens and hats this time of year for folks that need them. Do you do other crafts? Donate some to a school's or church's craft fair. They'll be happy for the extras to use as raffle prizes or gifts for their workers. Do you love scrapbooking? Use some of your scraps to make bookmarks and donate them to your local library for their patrons. The possibilities are really endless.

The holidays are often thought of as a time of excess, but with a little creativity and a bit of community-building spirit, the holidays can be a time when EVERYONE has just exactly as much as they need.