how to spread the joy?

I have been exceptionally lucky this holiday period, what with winning a few competitions, being able to spend my time with those I love most, having a house to live and food to eat, I truly feel so lucky.

We're not ones to want for much, we certainly don't have that much, money is in short supply, but we have always had the view point of that money is one of the least important factors.
Money makes people greedy, nasty and all round horrible. There are things which I just don't want to go into that have changed my view of money forever, and I know that happiness is not about who can buy the greatest gifts or who can claim to have the biggest bank balance. No, happiness comes from something else all together, and only when people realize that do they become happier.

But put that to one side at the moment that is not the reason I started this post, this post is about sharing my joy, winning the competitions I have won really have been amazing, I never thought I would actually win these and the prizes couldn't have come at a better time. I was worrying how I was going to make this Christmas special this year, with not alot of money to buy gifts, and my parents taking a back seat due to them already giving us one of the best gifts they ever could, Jackson. I was starting to think maybe a small scale Christmas was on the cards, my memories as in my previous post, are firmly filled with the magic of Christmas my parents and grandparents went all out each year to ensure our Christmas mornings were filled with in reality far too many gifts, but it made it special, rightly or wrongly the gifts are important to children.
So true to my moto on life, things always do work themselves out, and the competitions have enabled me to hopefully create a great Christmas this year which will hopefully fill the memories of my three children for many many years, but also I have found a new joy in winning these comps, not only was there the thrill of entering, and waiting to see if I had won, there was the joy I felt by someone other than my friends and family giving me a pat on the back for the effort I'd put into making the entries, and there was something else I've gained from these competitions something just as worthy as the prizes themselves.
For they have made me start this blog, this blog which I WILL stick with, that I have been able to write more passionately on than any of my other blogs, this blog means more to me, because I started it hoping to be able to make something more of my prize. and secondly they have enabled me to spread the joy, even if just in a very fractional way. My £200 prize from the Early learning center was more than I could imagine and truly meant the world to me, I however have some very good friends who I know have struggled to give their own children a magical Christmas this year, so I choose to give a small amount to one of my friends to spread my win. I also was able to give 2 gifts to 2 other special families, small as these gifts are, and as relatively un impressive to most, these gifts were only able to be given because I had the luck of winning these competition, otherwise I just wouldn't of been able to as all my spare money always goes on my children.
I still have not been able to buy gifts for everyone who is important to me, actually in honesty some of the most important people to me always fall last on my gift list, because these people understand and don't expect gifts from me, and for that I'm very thankful.
But the true meaning of Christmas surely is giving, and this year I am thankful for the little bit of giving that I have been lucky enough to do, and I hope the gifts I have for my Children and the small token gifts for my friends, spread the joy i have felt since being lucky enough to of won a couple of competitions.
Christmas is also a time where I try and be as charitable as I can, for the past couple of years I have not sent cards out, yes its nice to have a token of good will and a message from friends past and present wishing you well in the coming new year, but these wishes can be spread in other ways, a phone call, an email, or even a visit all mean just as much, if not more to those people close to you, cards do at the end of the day cost a fair bit, the stamps too don't come cheap, and they all get discarded after such a small amount of time. So on request of an amazingly brave friend of mine, who has such a tough year, I donated a small amount instead of buying cards to her chosen charity, and even tho again my gift was small, I know she appreciates it and that is all that matters.

So my point to this post? to encourage everyone to spread their joy, be it in big ways or small, be it by giving gifts or kind words, smiles and hugs, spread the happiness as the holidays will then be happier for everyone.