what are your thoughts on the angel tree

[Wendy1985]

Is it for people who can write it off or people like me that know what it is like to go without

I look forward to the angel tree every year dh thinks I am depriving people of big corporations the opportunity for a tax right off but as selfish as it sounds I want to give because that is what Christmas is about

 

[disneychrista]

I don't think big corporations are buying gifts for the angel tree. At most they are asking their employees to do so. They get the good press that "employees of BIG CORP donated 100 gifts to the angel tree" without it costing them a dime.

 

[Skippy918]

Anyone can volunteer to choose a family for the angel tree. If it’s something you want to do, go for it.

 

[Wendy1985]

I don't think big corporations are buying gifts for the angel tree. At most they are asking their employees to do so. They get the good press that "employees of BIG CORP donated 100 gifts to the angel tree" without it costing them a dime.

I think I know what you mean my gym gets a tree every year so they use clients like myself to say they donated x # of gifts but convenient for me because i don’t have to search for a tree?

I think i understood you

 

[disneychrista]

I think I know what you mean my gym gets a tree every year so they use clients like myself to say they donated x # of gifts but convenient for me because i don’t have to search for a tree?

I think i understood you

This is pretty similar to what I meant.

 

[HopperFan]

I don't think any corporation is using an Angel Tree for any kind of write off. Perhaps in some cases they might get the opportunity to pat themselves on the back for hosting one. And maybe some employees like doing it and it makes it a company community service opportunity.

A local "garden center" (fancy, with animals, gift shop, cafe etc) is hosting one for Salvation Army. It had been years since we participated in a holiday gift giving program so I was excited that theirs was hosting SENIOR CITIZENS. I loved it and have picked two, a man and a lady. So many are left out of the holidays, live alone or in a home with no family being there for them. I look at it that perhaps I can brighten their day.

 

[ronandannette]

Is the Angel Tree project where you live an "adopt a family" type of thing or just take a tag and buy a gift? If it's the former, they usually have a minimum-spend guideline for an entire family that's (at least here last year) about $500 and includes a specific wish list for every member of the family as well as groceries and household necessities. In my opinion, it would be wrong to commit to a family without being willing and able to spend at least the minimum.

Now if your Angle Tree is the sort where you choose a tag for a certain aged boy or girl, this is a much more affordable way for most individuals to make a really meaningful contribution and be a blessing to someone. It's a good feeling and I hope you enjoy doing it.

 

[White Cat]

I’m all for children getting nice things for Christmas. The rest of it doesn’t matter to me.

 

[Wendy1985]

Is the Angel Tree project where you live an "adopt a family" type of thing or just take a tag and buy a gift? If it's the former, they usually have a minimum-spend guideline for an entire family that's (at least here last year) about $500 and includes a specific wish list for every member of the family as well as groceries and household necessities. In my opinion, it would be wrong to commit to a family without being willing and able to spend at least the minimum.

Now if your Angle Tree is the sort where you choose a tag for a certain aged boy or girl, this is a much more affordable way for most individuals to make a really meaningful contribution and be a blessing to someone. It's a good feeling and I hope you enjoy doing it.

single tag

I never thought of the seniors to be honest

 

[HopperFan]

Is the Angel Tree project where you live an "adopt a family" type of thing or just take a tag and buy a gift? If it's the former, they usually have a minimum-spend guideline for an entire family that's (at least here last year) about $500 and includes a specific wish list for every member of the family as well as groceries and household necessities. In my opinion, it would be wrong to commit to a family without being willing and able to spend at least the minimum.

Now if your Angle Tree is the sort where you choose a tag for a certain aged boy or girl, this is a much more affordable way for most individuals to make a really meaningful contribution and be a blessing to someone. It's a good feeling and I hope you enjoy doing it.

Around here all the Angel Trees we have ever seen are for ONE person, with the tag offering age, sex, sizes and suggestions. My Seniors have NEED item and WISH items with all the sizes. They ask that you fulfill NEED and whatever else you can.

My extended family has done the Adopt a Family, those are usually handled through social agencies and churches. My Mom, Brother, Sister and I's families all went together to do it. We had a great time and even delivered direct to family which I though was unusual.

 

[Wendy1985]

Around here all the Angel Trees we have ever seen are for ONE person, with the tag offering age, sex, sizes and suggestions. My Seniors have NEED item and WISH items with all the sizes. They ask that you fulfill NEED and whatever else you can.

My extended family has done the Adopt a Family, those are usually handled through social agencies and churches. My Mom, Brother, Sister and I's families all went together to do it. We had a great time and even delivered direct to family which I though was unusual.

Never seen the group one either I wish they would advertise the one for seniors as well as kids because this is the first I am hearing about it

 

[HopperFan]

Never seen the group one either I wish they would advertise the one for seniors as well as kids because this is the first I am hearing about it

I had never heard of it. I went to the Salvation Army website and it is on there. Perhaps it is something new, maybe they've seen many seniors being forgotten. I imagine through Meals on Wheels and such they would become aware of these folks.

 

[Dan Murphy]

We do Angel Tree every year at church. It's for the children of incarcerated parents.

 

[disneychrista]

Is the Angel Tree project where you live an "adopt a family" type of thing or just take a tag and buy a gift? If it's the former, they usually have a minimum-spend guideline for an entire family that's (at least here last year) about $500 and includes a specific wish list for every member of the family as well as groceries and household necessities. In my opinion, it would be wrong to commit to a family without being willing and able to spend at least the minimum.

Now if your Angle Tree is the sort where you choose a tag for a certain aged boy or girl, this is a much more affordable way for most individuals to make a really meaningful contribution and be a blessing to someone. It's a good feeling and I hope you enjoy doing it.

Most here are single "tags" you pull off a tree and then buy gifts for that particular child. There are also separate programs that provide food & gifts to families but these all take donations of items to distribute. You don't sponsor a particular family.

 

[Donald Duck Family]

We used to do the Angel Tree at our church, but stopped when we could no longer afford what the tags listed for the desired gift. Too many were X-boxes or Playstations and other expensive items. It became depressing to only see items that were out of the budget for our own family.

We love Toys for Tots. Each year we take the boys to the store and they each pick out a nice toy for one girl and one boy that is their age and then we take those to a dropoff site where they can put their toys in the collection box.

We also like Heifer International. Each of us picks something to donate. usually its a flock of chicks or a hive of honeybees.

The boys' school also does Operation Christmas Child each year. Each boy gets to fill a shoebox full of small toys and toiletries for kids overseas. They seem to really enjoy seeing how much they can fit into a shoebox.

 

[tvguy]

I never consider the tax impact of my charity giving either on my taxes or someone else's.
Angel Tree gifts tend to be modest requests IMHO, and would not be worth their value as a tax write off but may make a Child, or a Senior's Christmas

https://saangeltree.org/

 

[ronandannette]

We used to do the Angel Tree at our church, but stopped when we could no longer afford what the tags listed for the desired gift. Too many were X-boxes or Playstations and other expensive items. It became depressing to only see items that were out of the budget for our own family.

We love Toys for Tots. Each year we take the boys to the store and they each pick out a nice toy for one girl and one boy that is their age and then we take those to a dropoff site where they can put their toys in the collection box.

We also like Heifer International. Each of us picks something to donate. usually its a flock of chicks or a hive of honeybees.

The boys' school also does Operation Christmas Child each year. Each boy gets to fill a shoebox full of small toys and toiletries for kids overseas. They seem to really enjoy seeing how much they can fit into a shoebox.

We sponsored a family through church a few years ago; I totally know what you mean. It turned out to be an "us or them" situation for us and while we took great joy in giving, it required a choice to go without ourselves that year. The program stopped during Covid and turned into just cash donations and the church distributing gift cards to the needy so they could acquire what they wanted. I also love giving to the charities that have catalogues of sustenance items going to families in the third-world. I usually go for the infant-and-child-nutrition packs (powdered milk and vitamin supplements) but one time we bought a goat. The gift that keeps on giving!!

November 21-25 is National Shoe-Box Collection Week here in Canada; gotta get ours ready to go. DS is grown now but he and I still do one together every year.

 

[luv2cheer92]

My hospital system adopts around 15-20 families every year, then different departments that volunteer are assigned a family. You can choose the family size based on how many people you have. We have 8 in my department, and we usually get a family of 3-4 to get things for. The hospital organization has really nothing to do with it as far as getting the actual gifts.

 

[clori]

I tend to skip trees unless I know the real specifics of the program. I know some cases you are getting for a specific child and some it is just a guess but not something actually going to a specific child. The program near me that I like doens't involve a tree. They just ask for new items that you feel may be needed/wanted for 0-18 year olds. The items are not wrapped. Volunteers like girl scouts do their best to divide them into areas by age. Low income parents are invited to come in (no kids) to pick exactly hat they want for their kids then volunteers wrap and if needed arrange for delivery. They also make sure they can deliver for Hanukkah if that is needed when Hanukkah is sooner than the Christmas drop off. Parents get to pick clothes, toys and stocking stuffers plus food is somehow also involved. In the past my daughter's girl scout troop has asked about what was needed the most and it is always gifts for teens so her troop focuses on that age range when they go out shopping together.

 

[HopperFan]

I tend to skip trees unless I know the real specifics of the program. I know some cases you are getting for a specific child and some it is just a guess but not something actually going to a specific child. The program near me that I like doens't involve a tree. They just ask for new items that you feel may be needed/wanted for 0-18 year olds. The items are not wrapped. Volunteers like girl scouts do their best to divide them into areas by age. Low income parents are invited to come in (no kids) to pick exactly hat they want for their kids then volunteers wrap and if needed arrange for delivery. They also make sure they can deliver for Hanukkah if that is needed when Hanukkah is sooner than the Christmas drop off. Parents get to pick clothes, toys and stocking stuffers plus food is somehow also involved. In the past my daughter's girl scout troop has asked about what was needed the most and it is always gifts for teens so her troop focuses on that age range when they go out shopping together.

We have a local charity that does it this way. This program has a thrift store, food bank, car program, job coach program and utility bill program. They have a very rigid vetting process and it is a well run machine. We have donated a couple cars, once we got a thank you letter from the mother that received it. I wouldn't mind donating toys to them for their toyland since I know the people receiving them are an approved part of this program.

I am hoping the Salvation Army program for seniors is well run. I got names, ages, very specific sizes of clothing needed. The same with no wrapping, just put in together in special bag with tag. They will check it and wrap it. I think going forward if I participate it will be for Seniors or perhaps the disabled who are living in group housing. I know sometimes they have no close by family.

** I did check my local charity and in addition to their Toyland they have a Holiday Gift basket where if you put it together they will take local senior and disabled adults. That might be easier than filling specific needs, and often they are those that are left behind at holidays.