Holiday Recipe from the Heart

• 6 Loaves Bread

• 3 Large Jars Peanut Butter

• 3 Large Jars Jelly

• 12 Packages Mac'N'Cheese Dinners

When my children were little, they had a lot of friends in the neighborhood and exchanging holiday gifts became a complicated exercise, especially for children who already had more than enough "stuff."

One holiday season the other parents and I decided that our children needed to experience more giving and less getting. I called a local homeless shelter and they said they would accept PB & J sandwiches and mac'n'cheese dinners in large roasting pans. One snowy afternoon we gathered all the kids at my house and they prepared meals for the homeless shelter-older kids made potfuls of mac'n'cheese and even toddlers spread peanut butter on bread. We supplied popcorn and lollipops to the cooks.

After we finished, the older kids loaded the car with many grocery bags full of sandwiches and lots of pans of hot dinners and accompanied me to the shelter. There the children gifted the shelter people with food and the children received the gift of the joy of giving as they saw some people's eyes light up at receiving the food and receiving their generosity.