Christmas is approaching fast and it is the most wonderful time of the year! Maybe your children will be lucky enough to receive a gift of money from relatives and friends. So this is a perfect opportunity to put into practice the learnings from books 2 – A SMART WAY TO SAVE – and from book 3 – A SMART WAY TO SPEND.

When the excitement of Christmas Day is over, have children appreciate the gift they have received by explaining to them the value of this gift:

How many a hours of chores (which chores and at what price per hour? ) would they have had to do, to earn the amount gifted to them? This is a great way to practice mental math (super important skill for future financial confidence!) and engage in a values-based discussion. Appreciating that other people had to work hard for the money gifted is an important part of the learning journey.

How much of this amount will be saved and how much will be spent to fulfill a Christmas wish? Remind your child not to take all their money with them when they go shopping, so they don’t fall into the trap of spending it all in one go! Setting some aside is a wise way to start planning.

What will you chose to spend your money on? Have you made a list … and checked it twice? Even Santa checks his list twice! The smarter the planning, the less likely any pennies will be wasted on something of poor quality or that will be played with once and then neglected.

What about donating some for a good cause? This is a great opportunity to think of people less fortunate and teach children that sharing is caring. And choose wisely which organizations you donate to. A great starting point can be to introduce your child to the United Nation’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): pick a cause that is close to your heart!

Does “Sustainable Development Goal” sound too complex for your young child?
No worries – we made it kiddy friendly with our “Start Doing Good” poem! It teaches children the SDGs in a simple way – and it’s as easy to memorize as the alphabet!

Enjoy doing good this Christmas!