Happy December!  It is a frosty morning here south of Nashville, TN. And I’m warm and toasty in my cozy home office. I know there are many, right here in my county that aren’t as fortunate. That’s top of mind as I put together this post for Giving Tuesday. This year I’m going to continue to help where I live. To that end, I’m donating food, toys, clothes, books, diapers, anything I can to help local community outreach programs and non profits. If you’d like to help out in your community and need some ideas on where to get started, read on for Six ways you can give on Giving Tuesday.

We are in the home stretch, friends! With Christmas just 5 days away, I thought it was the perfect time to share an easy, tasty cookie recipe that doubles as a great last minute hostess gift or a special show of appreciation to a teacher, bus driver or neighbor. 

I love baking from scratch whenever I can, but sometimes this busy work-at-home mom needs to streamline the baking process, too and that’s when I turn to premade cookie mixes. Mixes like Betty Crocker's help me keep calm and whip up a batch or two of these easy Peanut Butter Toffee cookies in no time. Trust me when I say, these cookies are so quick and delicious, nobody will believe they aren’t from scratch!

Here’s my quick and easy recipe for Peanut Butter Toffee Cookies. 

Ingredients:

Directions:

If you are giving cookies as gifts like I am, get your cookie container ready while the cookies cool. I prefer using Ziploc containers because they are sturdy and reusable, which truly comes in handy this time of year! Sometimes, I even receive my container back with a goody inside as thanks. 

I’ve found that a dozen cookies fit perfectly in the 1.25 quart size plastic containers. Sometimes you can get lucky and find the holiday containers, but if not, you can decorate your container as festively as you want.  It really is a simple and easy way to spread kindness and cheer at this special time of year!

I hope you enjoy these cookies and all the joy that this, the most wonderful time of the year, brings.

Merry Christmas from us to you!

This is my third year as an ambassador #GivingTuesday,  the global day of giving back to our community, or the world depending on which causes and organizations you choose to support. My family and I choose to support globally during most of the year, but during the holidays, we love to give our support locally. Read on for my three easy ways to give back starting today.

1. Donate Funds:

The first way we give is by putting a donation in nearly every Salvation Army bell ringers collection. Sometimes it’s just the change in our hands from our recent shopping trip. Other times we give a more meaningful amount, it really depends on where we are in our lives. Every little bit helps!  We smile and thank  the volunteers who are out in all sorts of weather promoting the Salvation's Armies promise to America to “Do the most good”. Our daughters, now in their teens,  have watched us do this so often over the years, that now they reach in their purse or pockets to see what they can give as well. This makes us very proud parents because we never asked them to give, they want too.  If you would like to learn more about volunteering this holiday season as a bell ringer, please visit www.ringbells.org where you can do a search to find local volunteer opportunities. 

2. Donate Food:

The second way we give is by supporting local food banks. The need is greatest this time of year, second only to summer when kids are out of school. The idea of not having enough food is a scary and growing situation on our country.  It’s hard to fathom that 42 million people in America face hunger each day- that’s 1 in every 8 Americans!  Sadly, school age children are the most severely affected by hunger. 

One of the easiest ways to help is to look for a collection bin at your local grocery store and put one of your BOGO’s in it all year. If you have the resources, perhaps you can adopt a family in need off of the giving tree in your community.  My local stores have them up all season. If your grocery store doesn’t, just look up your local food bank at Feeding America  and ask what they need.  

3. Donate Time:

Last but certainly not least, we want to help seniors in our community this year. I’m contacting a local assisted living community today to see how we might help brighten residents days. Simple acts like visiting for 30 minutes, smiling and saying hello to each resident we see, writing greeting cards for a hallway of residents, giving out free hand massages since I’m an Avon lady.

If you don’t have an assisted living center in your community, contact your local senior center or visit the National Center on Aging  which has a wealth of resources to help you plug in and help.

More Ways to help:

My three ways of helping may not be the best fit for you, so I invite you to visit the #GivingTuesday website where you can find countless ways to get involved today, next month or next year.

 Freebie:

The one thing you can give freely, multiple times a day is your smile. It costs you nothing, but to the receiver it may mean everything, especially in our social media savvy world! Look up from those phones when you are in public and Smile! Speaking of smiling- are you following me a.k.a. ismilefirst on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest? I'd love for you to join me! 

Please share in comments: Which way do you and your family help give back to your community?

Once I’ve served Thanksgiving leftovers at least twice, I feel comfortable turning my attention to all things Christmas and that means decorating and baking cookies! I love baking from scratch whenever I can, but sometimes this busy work at home Mom needs to streamline the baking process and that’s when I turn to Betty Crocker Cookie mixes. This week, I’m spreading holiday cheer with my Peanut Butter Toffee Cookies that started with a Betty Crocker mix. These cookies are so quick and delicious; nobody will believe they aren’t from scratch!

When The Motherhood sent out an email asking for volunteer #GivingTuesday social media ambassadors, I signed up immediately because I had been putting a lot of thought into how I might use my online voice to help others offline.

 As a family, we give a little here and there all year long; whether that’s supporting Saint Jude when we get our hair cut, or donating our gently used clothes, toys and books to our local Goodwill. 

We believe that every donation helps, no matter how big or small. It’s the act of giving that’s the important life lesson. We’ve always told our girls, we may not have everything we want, but we are blessed to have everything we need and that if we look closely, we will see someone who may be struggling to have their needs met.

With the holidays drawing near, you may be feeling blessed with all that you have as well, even if it isn’t all that you want. Now is the perfect time to lend a hand to those less fortunate. #GivingTuesday can help find a cause or non-profit that speaks to where you are in your life. This is a fairly new initiative so here’s some information for you.

About #GivingTuesday:

#GivingTuesday was founded in 2012 by New York’s 92^nd Street Y partnership with United Nations Foundation. #GivingTuesday, a global day dedicated to giving back, encourages people to share their own giving stories and favorite giving moments or organizations. No one charity is supported- with more than 12,000 nonprofit partners and projects, you have lots of choices on who to support and how, whether it's a tweet or a donation.

When: #GivingTuesday is on Tuesday December 2, 2014.  Please join us:! 

I invite you to learn more about #GivingTuesday by visiting their website and then joining. You can help spread the Give on Tuesday December 2, 2014 by sharing your own #Unselfie and sharing ways you are giving by using hashtag #GivingTuesday on your social channels. You’ll be joining your voice with charities, families, businesses, students, community centers around the world coming together for one common purpose, to celebrate generosity and give.

Share your Unselfie!

Here’s my #UNselfie showing the charities my family and I choose to support this #GivingTuesday. I hope you’ll join us and post your own #Unselfie! Tag me on Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram @ismilefirst so I can share in your giving choose. Tag and follow TheMotherhood as well on Twitter! 

Like my #Unselfie?  Visit the tools page at #GivingTuesday to download your own #Unselfie template, check out tool kits, ideas and more. And stay tuned for more information on a special Twitter party I’ll be co-hosting with other fab TheMotherhood ladies!

I am truly blessed and thankful that my little O'Hana has everything we need and that we are able to help those who don't have a better day. 


 Happy Holidays from our home to yours!