The Telegraph’s Post

Christmas will bring to 127 million families each. = 1.07 trillion $$ spent According to recent data, the average American family spends around $1,000 on Christmas each year, with most of that going towards gifts for family members; this figure is based on information from the National Retail Federation (NRF). Key points about average Christmas spending: Average spending per person: Around $997.73 Gift spending breakdown: A significant portion is typically allocated to gifts for family members Factors affecting spending: Family size, age of children, and regional variations can influence the total amount spent

The festive season should be a time for joy, but for many parents, the pressure to buy gifts, create the perfect celebrations, and handle the added stress can feel overwhelming. At doddl, we understand the challenges families face and want to help make Christmas more manageable: 🎁 Focus on Thoughtful, Practical Gifts: Items like toddler cutlery (just an example 😉) that supports development offer lasting value without financial strain. 🛒 Encourage Smart Shopping: Flexible options like gift cards or curated bundles reduce decision fatigue. 👪 Prioritise Family Time: Shared moments—like a child feeding themselves for the first time—create lasting memories. How do you take the pressure off during Christmas and focus on what truly matters—family moments or thoughtful gifting? Let’s share ideas to make the season more meaningful. #HolidayStress #ParentingSupport #ThoughtfulGifting #doddl #LessStressMoreJoy #MeaningfulChristmas #ChristmasParenting

As Christmas draws near, many of us eagerly anticipate celebrations, family gatherings, and cherished traditions. However, for children living on the streets, the holiday season often brings additional dangers: Crowded spaces, unfamiliar faces, and the relentless pressures of survival make them even more vulnerable to exploitation, neglect, and abuse.  In Ghana, the festive season sees high activity in open markets and lorry stations as people shop and prepare to travel back to their hometowns to celebrate with relatives. For street children, this busy season is not about celebration—it’s about survival. They scramble for opportunities to earn money by carrying goods for shoppers or selling water, oranges, and snacks to travelers. While others prepare for festive joy, these children are left to fend for themselves amidst the chaos. Christmas is a time of love, joy, and hope—a season that reminds us of the importance of protecting the most vulnerable among us. At Chance for Children, we are dedicated to keeping children safe, not just during the holidays but every day. Through outreach programs, education, and community support, we strive to create spaces where children can feel secure, valued, and cared for. This Christmas, let us remember that the gift of safety is one we can all give. Together, we can create a world where every child has the chance to experience love, joy, and hope—not just during the holidays but throughout their lives. With warm and joyful greetings from the Management Team 

LinkedIn Followers - I need your help! We Are Young is on a mission to send 3,000 handwritten holiday cards to seniors who are feeling alone this holiday season. Over the years, your support has made a profound difference: “Some have no family at all, while others have family but too far away to visit. The holidays are a lonely time of year when you have no one to spend it with. Feeling depressed over the holidays compounds preexisting health issues. These cards really help lighten the load.” – Community Partner 💌 So far, 2,150 cards have been purchased—850 more to go! With just 11 days left, we need your help to reach our goal and brighten the holidays for seniors who need it most. ✨ How you can help: 1️⃣ Purchase a card: Each $7.50 card delivers love, hope, and connection. 2️⃣ Share this post: Your network can help us spread the word! Together, let’s make this holiday season unforgettable for seniors in our community. ❤️ 👉 https://lnkd.in/emyVAGfV https://lnkd.in/ehYDsaWi

I saw this outside a Greene King pub in Kingston yesterday. Last time I checked, only children need day care centres? Whilst the supposed 'joke' isn't lost on me, it makes me sad that brands as big as Greene King find it appropriate to continue pedalling the idea that husbands are somehow adult children. And that the way to get customers to drink more beer is to use the worn out trope that husbands and wives don't like to spend time together. That for the wife to get peace, somebody else needs to be taking care of the husband... Where are the #notallmen brigade now? Why don't men (husbands or not) stand up to this sort of messaging? To ask businesses, the media, advertising to stop branding them as incompetent man-children who need to be left at the pub to drink beer while his partner runs errands? That by spending time with his wife, he will somehow be a nuisance. That for the wife to find peace, she needs to go shopping alone, before taking home an intoxicated partner. Unfortunately, there will be people who defend this saying it's just a bit of harmless fun, but it doesn't seem like fun when there's a very real case of boys and men feeling undervalued by society, and not taken seriously as fathers or husbands. When more and more women are asking for equal support in the home and with their families to alleviate the pressure they feel when it comes to taking on a disproportionate amount of unpaid care & labour. These are things brands will be aware of. That people who work in marketing for these brands will be aware of. The same people who are in a position to change the messaging. The saddest thing is, there will be some people who don't want these sorts of messages to go away, because the image of the hopelessly useless husband and outdated view that the best place for a man is away from his family benefits them somehow. It gives any man who wants one, a free pass to ignore responsibilities traditionally labelled as effeminate. And sometimes, men feel emboldened to act in a way they think will get them some sort of societal kudos. So instead of opting to enjoy time with his wife or share the mental and physical load that comes with shopping, he's free to take the invite to spend the afternoon in husband day care. And Greene King will reward him for that decision. Sure, not every man will take this invite, but ALL husbands will read this chalkboard and see that they supposedly need taking care of. And Greene King is proud to support that message. So proud they wrote it on a chalk board welcoming guests into their pub... I also want to make it clear that I'm not overlooking the fact that some partners genuinely prefer to do the shopping alone. To which I say, seeing as it's being advertised as a day care centre, I'm sure Greene King won't mind the actual kids hanging back with the husband too. It does say 'time to yourself' after all. #brandmarketing #sexisminmarketing #sorrywhatdidyousay

Greetings all. I need your help today. 💙 I'm on the Board of Directors of Loaves and Fishes Ministry, Inc., a Triangle non-profit that has been empowering under-resourced K-12 youth and their families for over 40 years. We accomplish this through out-of-school programming using a long-term, relationally-based, holistic approach to development that involves enrichment of the mind, body, and spirit. We strategically collaborate with schools, non-profits, and other community organizations to provide critical support to the youth and families we serve. One of the programs that our families participate in each year is the Pride for Parents Store -- a "pop-up" Christmas Store offering a hand UP instead of a hand OUT -- allowing families to make their own gift selections, instilling pride in paying for the gifts they select at very reduced prices, while enjoying the love, fellowship, and community of our volunteers. Through the kindness of donors, we have been able to stock the store each year with a variety of different toys, bikes, games, and books for all age groups. This year, however, we’re facing a unique challenge. Recently, we suffered the theft of a storage trailer, and with it, all the toys and presents we had carefully saved from previous years. This loss has left us with a much larger need for donations as we approach the holidays. We need your help in replenishing our inventory so we can continue to provide affordable and meaningful gifts for families. We've made it simple by creating online gift registries which you can conveniently shop and have the gifts sent directly to the registry address. My personal goal is to EMPTY THE AMAZON LIST before our store opens on December 10th. To date, 43 out of 729 items have been purchased. I'm leading by example by purchasing 5 items from the list. I need your help with the rest. My network is deep and kind, and I know I can count on you. If you make a purchase, please drop me a message in the comments (or a private DM if you wish to remain anonymous). I just want to know who to thank. 🤗 Note: During checkout, be sure to select the registry address under the shipping option to ensure proper delivery. Please join me and the Board in making this season brighter for those we serve. Together, we can transform this setback into an opportunity to spread even more holiday joy. www.lafchildren.org www.pfpwake.org Joe Burmester vielka Gabriel Kevoni Polanco Duncan Jennings Hans Linnartz

How can you use data to make #Halloween a little more fun? 📊👻 As you greet your trick-or-treaters, keep in mind that 42% of all children in New Jersey live in families that either are in poverty or are ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed), unable to afford basics. So, to help each child you meet have a great holiday, remember: 🎃 Don't comment on how they're dressed. Their families may live on tight budgets and may not have the time or money to invest in a costume. 🎃 Don't comment on their age. Older kids want to enjoy the holiday, too – and candy might be a rare treat. 🎃 Do offer them treats and wish them a Happy Halloween! There are probably a lot more ways you can utilize the ALICE data in your work or day-to-day life! Learn more about #ALICEchildren, visit https://lnkd.in/dHp7TrP4. #UnitedForALICE #data #children #budget #costume #economy #dogood #missiondriven #empathy

In Mead, we know shopping locally this holiday season creates a ripple effect that improves our community for everyone. Learn some of the other reasons we're focusing on shopping local this year at the link below. https://lnkd.in/diwH-yqF

🎉 It's that time of year again when Toi Smith is organizing Holiday Love, with the goal of supporting 50 Black single mothers. Through this initiative, her organization, Loving Black Single Mothers pair lower-income Black single mothers with a Loving Black Single Mothers financial partner. These partners are everyday people committed to gifting 💰 between $125-$500 per month throughout the holiday season—November, December, January, and February—for a total of $2,000. Black single mothers are free to use these funds as they see fit to support themselves and their families, no strings attached, because we trust Black single mothers. While this support may not eliminate all the stress and challenges of the holiday season, our hope is that it brings some relief and joy. She is calling on 50 to 200 individuals to join Holiday Love as financial partners, helping to redistribute $100,000 to lower-income Black single mothers again this year. I've already signed up for this year, because supporting this Toi's work is one of the most important things I can do with my privilege. I want to invite anyone who feels called to create the opportunity for some financial relief and joy to sign up in whatever capacity you are able. Details can be found here: https://lnkd.in/eP-HwqvH If you aren't able to sign up, then I would love it so much if you could share this with your network to spread the word and support Holiday Love 2024! #nourish #flourish

It’s the most wonderful time of the year; but the festive holiday is also the most challenging season for separated parents. Whether it’s your first, or umpteenth, Xmas apart, here’s our 5 C’s on how to create double the magic, not double the drama, this Christmas… 𝟭) 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗠𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗘 Plan ahead, consider your kids’ wishes and try to put on a united front as much as possible. 𝟮) 𝗕𝗲 𝗖𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗩𝗘 Don’t dwell on Christmases past. Embrace the change and come up with some new traditions to share. 𝟯) 𝗖𝗢𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗘 𝗴𝗶𝗳𝘁𝘀 Discuss stockings beforehand to avoid duplicating (or missing) presents. Don’t try to outdo each other, or overcompensate, with excessive gift giving. 𝟰) 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗜𝗦𝗘 Whether you alternate Christmases, or split the day between both parents, try to be flexible (and forgiving). 𝟱) 𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗟𝗗𝗥𝗘𝗡 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 Do what’s best for your kids - not what’s ‘fair’ for you. Make sure you plan (and prioritise) some self-care when it’s your ex’s turn to have them. #christmas #coparenting #parentinggoals