Welcome to Day 5 of "Ways to Give Back at Christmas Time".  For those of you who are new to the "Beauty Blog", I update the blog Monday - Friday with hair, skin, nail, make-up and other beauty tips, but the past week or so has been dedicated to inner beauty. We all get so caught up in the craziness of the Holidays that we forget to focus on what Christmas is supposed to be all about...

Love, Hope, and Generosity.

(and don't forget Family, that's my favorite part)

Please take a few moments to read this and the other 4 entries on ways to give back this holiday season, and maybe even try a few of them out. I promise it will make you feel good!

Today's suggestion is:

Send a Care Package to Children in Need

I actually got this idea from my mother's Kindergarten Class. There is a child in her class who was adopted from the Ukraine this summer. As a service project, the class is make blankets (the fleece ones you cut fringe around and tie together) and they are sending them to the orphanage that this little girl came from. If these children can be generous enough to give up their play time to make something for children in need, certainly we can make an effort.

...who says adults can't learn something from a 5-year-old?

Here are a few ideas for care packages for children:

toiletries

Diapers

Comfortable clothes and shoes

stuffed animals

blankets

anything you think they may need would be appreciated, I'm sure.

These packages do not have to be expensive. Even one item is something they didn't have before.

Here is a list of orphanages in the area:

http://www.clpgh.org/research/pittsburgh/history/orphanages/dir.html

Another option would be to send a care package to the troops overseas. Below is the link to a website that will give you ideas about what to send, how to send it, and where you can send it to.

http://www.anysoldier.com

And the best part...neither of these ideas are limited to the Holidays. You can send care packages all year round!

Tomorrow will be my last "Inner Beauty Blog". Starting after Christmas, I will go back to the original Beauty Blog, so if you have any beauty questions, please send them to pam[email protected], and I will answer them in my next blog.

Thanks, and Merry Christmas!

Bethany