Holiday Kickoff

The holidays are here! 

American Thanksgiving and Hanukkah signalled the official start of the holiday season, followed quickly by Black Friday and Cyber Monday. My, how the time is flying by!! If the December dash hasn't begun at your house yet, it's coming.

We here at Oliver’s Labels are busy preparing for our best holiday season yet, and are thrilled to offer limited-edition HolidayWall Art decals, as well as lots of fun tips, giveaways and festive fun on our social media pages (links are below)! 

But, before we get into all the fun of the season, we want to take a moment to reflect on those who aren’t as fortunate as we are. If you are involved in an act of kindness in your neighborhood or community, let us know about it! Whether you’re volunteering at a homeless shelter or hospital; donating funds or resources to causes in other countries; or contributing to your local food bank, we would love to hear about the many acts of kindness being done this holiday season. 

Let's inspire each other and make a difference in the lives of those around us.

Let the merry-making, cooking, gift buying, baking, decorating and hot-cocoa-drinking begin!

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Wordless Wednesday

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

...and Hanukkah!

Photo By Robert Couse-Baker

The Best Gift

My daughter asked me for a present this morning. I told her she had to wait.

Kids are impatient by nature – heck, I’m impatient by nature! But, there are always lessons to be learned and this was the perfect time to teach her one. I asked her why she wanted a present now and didn’t feel she could wait until tomorrow. She simply said, “Because I really want one!”. That’s a typical 4-year-old response, and I couldn’t fault her for it. But, I explained to her that many kids don’t even get one present, let alone many, and that she is very fortunate to have everything she does – a healthy family, a wonderful home, great food to eat, and lots of love! It’s simply a bonus to get special things like presents at Christmas. I reminded her of the baskets for the Salvation Army we contributed to at her school; of the toys we gave to kids who are less fortunate than us. She looked at me and I could see a glimpse of understanding in her eyes - that she realized she was luckier than many children – then she gave me a huge hug. That was the end of asking for a present “right now”.

As parents, we are always looking for ways to instill gratitude in our kids, and there’s no better time to do that than at the holidays. Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or nothing in particular, it’s a festive time of year - ripe with opportunity to reach out to others, show a little kindness and be great examples to our kids. 

So, if you see the charitable bell-ringers on the street this holiday season, give your kids a few coins and let them drop them in the kettle. It will make their hearts swell - and teach them that they can experience that amazing feeling, not just at Christmastime but any day of the year, by giving to those less fortunate. Now, that's the best present they could receive!

Happy Holidays from all of us at Oliver’s Labels!