E.N.
I think I heard an announcement at church a couple of weeks ago - to let them know of any needy families. I don't know what assistance is being offered, but you can always call the church and ask. It is Calvary Chapel Oceanside, ###-###-####, they are located on Oceanic Way right off of Oceanside Blvd. I know there is also a "food pantry" that is available for those in need all year round.
We don't have any money for Christmas this year, but I have some "experience" with this. In my younger years, my mom was a single working mom with 5 kids, and we had no money. I was a little oblivious to just how bad it was because I was so little, but I can remember that I wished I could have new clothes (I always got hand-me-downs from my sisters that had been hand-me-downs from other families, we had no money for clothes) and I wished we could have a Christmas like other families with lots of presents and exciting new toys. I did a lot of wishing when I was a kid. I never got any of it, but I think I learned a little bit about contentment and being grateful for what we DID have. My mom told me some of the miraculous things that happened when I was little, such as having no food in the house, and someone coming by and leaving a bag of groceries on our front doorstep. I saw a lot of affluence around me and I wished I was like others, but somehow, when it came to holidays and gifts, I learned that the gift was not really necessary to the celebration. I don't know if my mom specifically tried to teach me that, or if it just comes from years of having no gifts.
It was the same with birthdays - we never got any elaborate birthday presents or had big parties, but somehow my mom made our birthdays the most special day of the year for each of us. The only thing that I remember that we DID get on our birthdays, was the privilege to choose what Mom made for dinner. At Christmas now, we like to have a birthday celebration for Jesus and bake Him a cake that we all enjoy, but we don't exchange many presents, if any at all.
My kids are still too young to really understand, but my almost 4-year-old will often ask me for certain toys when we go to the store. I just explain to him that it costs money (though he doesn't really know what money is) and we don't have enough money for that. He isn't heartbroken, that is just the way it is. My kids do have grandparents who have been very generous so they have plenty of toys, but we can never afford to buy toys we see at stores (I can't even afford the food sometimes!). They probably would not have any Christmas or birthday gifts at all if it weren't for their grandparents. And I don't want them to learn that they should be able to have everything that they want, either. We don't always get what we want, nor should we.
I don't really have any specific ideas of how to do it, but I think you may have a great opportunity this year to let your kids learn about being grateful for family and what they do have, rather than what they don't. Try to focus your kids' attention on all that they do have to be thankful for and realize that Christmas was never supposed to be about getting what we want, it is about giving, because God gave us the greatest gift ever, Jesus.
I feel like I have been blessed to grow up with so little. I hear so many people talk about Christmas being a frenzied, fast-paced, stressful time, but it is not that way for me. I do try to give something small and thoughtful to my parents and in-laws (I usually knit something), but I don't have a lengthy list of gifts to buy or events to attend. I don't have any extra stress during Christmastime and I really get to enjoy "Peace" during Christmas.
I am hope this is helpful and I pray that you will find a new job very soon.
