A Christmas tradition in my family goes beyond giving gifts to each other. Throughout the years my large family has always gathered at my grandmother’s house to spend a family Christmas together. We have always had a ‘secret Santa’ so that everyone would have a Christmas present from one of the twenty-five of my family members.

However, four years ago my family decided to change that tradition. We saw that even though everyone appreciated getting presents every year, we could have been doing something better. So instead of giving presents, each person puts an anonymous amount of money, that would have been spent on a gift, into an unmarked envelope and we draw for a yes or a no, instead of names. There is only one yes, and the one person that draws it picks up all the money and spends all year picking a place or cause for the money to be donated to. The person who has the money does not reveal who they are until the next Christmas gathering when they tell everyone about what they have done with the money.

There are few rules the holder of the ‘yes’ card must follow for the upcoming year. They have to make something better than how they found it, whether that is donating all of the money to a homeless person on the street or they spend all year choosing a cause to donate it to, locally or nationally, it is completely up to them. They are responsible for all of the money that was put it, they can add to it, they can gamble it, invest it, etc, but if they are responsible for the original amount of money put in. The last rule is they must add to the family book.

The book is how that family member documents how they used the money. It is filled with letters, receipts, the ‘yes’ card that they drew out of the hat and pictures of the community work that they did as well as a summary of the processes they went through to give away the money.

Throughout the years family members have donated hundreds of dollars to local causes such as Backpack Buddies, The Ronald McDonald House, Local Scholarships, the North Thurston School District and victims of forest fires.

This story isn’t about Christmas or the holidays, but about giving back and making the world a better place. There is a reason why that one family member is given all year to choose what they do with the money. It is to emphasize the importance of giving back to the community or impacting the world all year round. Each year the people we donate towards are moved by our tradition and some even decide to adopt the same tradition. Each year our family tradition has grown, more and more money is added to our pool every year and the impact our family has on our communities grow.

My family’s tradition has taught me that a small idea can turn into something extremely impactful in the lives of many. What I would like to encourage is for everyone to think about how you are impacting the world. A little bit of time or money can go a long way in our world.