This Is Impossible!!

The tree may be doable. I think they have programs where you can plant trees in people's name when they are doing reforesting projects.

World peace, get rid of all politicians

No more hungry kids, get rid of all politicians

No more pollution, get rid of politicians. Oh come on they give off more CO2 than 20 farting cows!

I like the pen pal ideal.

Maybe once a month, you can take them to volunteer somewhere. A soup kitchen, donate toys to orphanages, donate food to the drives, pick up trash on a beach... Once a month do something with them and tell them it helps stop pollution, it helps feed the hungry kids, etc.

Teaching children that even small things like this really do make a difference is important. Have so much fun with it!

Aww, such good hearted girls.
Tell them it's okay to add something else to the list.
Or say "PRETEND you were gonna get toys and clothes this year, what would you want?"
See how that list comes out :)

The National Wildlife Federation has ornaments you can purchase. For each ornament you buy a tree is planted in your name. That would take care of seeds/saplings. http://www.shopnwf.org/Plant-a-Tree/Plant-a-Tree-Ornament...

Have them fill Christmas Boxes for Operation Christmas Child. This helps spread world peace.

Tree saplings are easy, go to the Arbor Day Foundation, a $10 donation gets you saplings for your area, we're waiting on ours.

Find a family they can help during the holidays. THen buy groceries for them and a couple toys.

These are such wonderful wishes. Like the song, My GrownUp Christmas Wish.
Tell them some of these are not possible to everyone but they can make a difference to the ones they choose.

Have you heard of Operation Christmas Child? It is a great program through the ministry Samaritan's Purse (they have a Facebook page).

You pack a shoebox with all sorts of items for another child in a developing nation and the organization delivers them for Christmas. You can pick a boy or a girl and the age of that child...liike newborn, or 2-4, etc.

Each of my kids make a box for a child their age. Small soaps, tooth brush and paste, little toys, expandable mittens, hair clips, pencils, paper, pens, stickers, non-chocolate candies, etc etc In fact we keep an eye out all year long and check the clearance bins and shelves and find really neat things to send to our friends in their shoe boxes.

You can include a picture of your child or family and sometimes the child will write back and I think this year you can even track your box as it goes to its destination whether it be Africa or Eastern Europe or South America.

That is the sweetest most awesome thing I have heard in a long time. Made my week.

.

maybe they can get a pen-pal?

I've seen advertisements in Parenting magazine about something called "Passport" where children get mail from other countries.

My dad is so hard to shop for. One year it was his bday and was on my way to his house with still no gift. I grabbed a piece of wood from my garage and with a sharpie, wrote "Dad's Wish Stick" and wrote "World Peace" "healthy hands" (his hand's are bad). "For your chidren to go to church." and so on. It's been 6 or 7 years and he still keeps that stick on display. Maybe for your girls, they could have a clipboard or something where they can write all of their wishes. I know you said they go to church with the ex or the ex-in-laws, so maybe they could call it their prayer list. Remind them that Santa has elves that make toys. Santa can't feed all the children, but we can pray for them and do food drives.

Good luck. Perhaps you can find more online regarding a toy or stuffed animal where proceeds of the purchase go to the Rainforest or something. www.freekibble.com You play trivia and win kibble for dogs and cats that need it in animal shelters. www.freerice.com you play vocabulary games to earn rice to hungry people all over the world. (It will auto-adjust to your level after a couple of questions. My 9 yr old neice used to play).
- YAY! I just donated 500 grains of rice today!
- Freekibble: just played it. Apparently there's only one question a day. Bummer. But still - if the girls played both games for a total of 5 minutes a day, that'd be 10 pieces of kibble and quite a few of rice too.

HA HA HA! We just had a similar conversation at the breakfast table. It has been cold and snowing a bit here, which makes us think of Christmas I guess. Child 1 wants an aquarium...ok, easy. But child # 2 wants:

Both Grandmas to come live with us forever
or
No more bad dreams, ever.

AWWW!

Ok, so maybe this year you could buy one of those Christmas trees that you plant in your yard when you are done with it. Or, could you buy an indoor garden set that they can put together (I am thinking kitchen herbs)?
You could certainly also put together a big box of food, wrap it up, and it has a note that it is for you and the kids to deliver to the food pantry, "Thanks so much for thinking about others, Love Santa". Good luck. Your kids sound lovely.

I think it's fabulous! Maybe if they like art and crafts they might like to make gifts for everyone. I loved beads, jewelry kits, paint and canvas boards, etc. I loved making gifts for other.

do they have a pet? Maybe a good gift would be to give them something they can take care of and show unconditional love to. They are givers, naturally, and will want to do for others. It would be a nice way of letting them take care of something, as well as getting something else in return.

Maybe they could put some of their art/jewelry to good use and start their own charity or foundation with it. They seem very passionate, empathetic and wanting to serve others.

Anyways, as far as gifts go, I would get them something that they could use for their passions. If they like to plant things, maybe they would like to grow their own garden, vegetables for your family. I know for us, we grow a huge garden every spring, and we also donate vegetables to the local food banks. If they like to give back, they can start small.

Planting trees - Order a few trees from http://www.arborday.org/ and let them plant.

World Peace - Could you get them a peace sign necklace, or bracelet? It would remind them to spread peace everywhere. What if you made a "peace box?" Put simple suggestions on paper and fold them up. Each day, your daughters take one out and do that. Things like "Thank your teacher," "give your friend a compliment," "play with someone who is lonely at school," those kinds of things. By doing these things, they are promoting world peace in the neighborhood. It is a tangible way of doing that.

-No more hungry kids - Can you afford to sponsor a child monthly? You could let them pick out a child on www.worldvision.org to sponsor. Or, you can donate individual gifts.

No more Pollution- Maybe, you can set up recycling bins somewhere? They can decorate them with stickers and such. Get a water timer. People use a lot of water. Saving water conserves it for the future. Conserving makes the world cleaner and better. Here are some cute ones. http://www.inhabitots.com/digital-shower-timers-help-kids...

Their 3 dead fish to be in heaven - Go to a pet store, get a cheap fish bowl. (Or use one, if you already have it.) Make a few headstones out of cardboard. Stick them in there with colorful rocks and accessories. That can be a reminder for them, that they are in fish heaven. Or...is that too morbid? Maybe, that's just a craft you can do with them.

LOL..hmmm, maybe tell them that God will take care of most of their list, but Santa would like to bring them something fun for being so sweet...? I'd buy that for a dollar :)

The tree thing is possible.

http://www.arborday.org/shopping/gifttrees/

Maybe you want to help your kids start a Kids Care Club. Check out this site:
http://www.kidscare.org/GetToKnowKCC/LearnMoreAboutKidsCa...

Not sure how you can tie it into Christmas, but it would help channel their compassionate energy!

Be sure to update the "What Happened?"!

As far as the trees, can you sponsor a tree in a park? Some communities have a tree planting sponsorship where you can sponsor a tree in someone's honor or memory......

That way, you can also go visit the tree and see how it is doing.

Also... what about one of those sponsorships where you send a small amount of money each month to help a child in another country?

And... Heifer International has a program where you can give a gift of a flock of ducks, chicks, or geese.... for $20... this is given to a family in a community, and that provides them not only with food (as the animals grow up), but they then agree to give chicks (or ducklings, etc) to another family to keep it spreading... They can also then sell the eggs, or whatever, to provide a source of income.

https://secure1.heifer.org/gift-catalog/?msource=kw2792&a...

Your children have wonderful hearts for other people.... encourage it!

the tree actualy would not be that hard to get. i wonder how much bonzi trees are? world peace starts with the house and its a process that can spread to eachother. how about a book on being a peace maker...so when there friends are argueing they might be able to help. no more hungery kids. thats a hard one. i agree with food drives. we once had a scavenger hunt for food stapels that was a ton of fun perhaps you girls can do the same but ask for food door to door and donate them. usually our local news stations have drives at thanksgiving and christmas. you might have a can and collect money to donate also. get there wheels turning on why there is world hunger, some locations dont have clean water to make crops grow or even to drink. tell them that it will take years to come up with a solution for clean water they should be learning at school and paying attention in science to learn to make a water processor. also pay attention in history class and politics because these are also reasons that there are hungery kids. hopefuly this will get there grades straight on target if there is a major goal that they have set for themselves too! again with the pollution have them understand that its up to us to make little changes in the things we do to help cut down on pollution. recycle bins if they dont already have them.

How adorable!

Tree seeds or saplings is doable.
As for World Peace, hungry kids and pollution: go to Heifer International & give the gift of a piece of livestock. Truly life changing (food, income, clean water wells, etc.). I'm thinking a goat and a clean water well would go a long way to those objectives...
As for the heaven request...pretty sure you could come up with a certificate from heaven ;) (And check out the poem The Rainbow Bridge!)

R.:

NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE!! Emmy and Maddy are soo cute!! This shows what a great mom you are!!!

The trees are possible - I think one mom gave you a link...

The no more hungry kids is do-able as well - you can donate food to a food bank in their name so at least some kids won't go hungry!!!

If I had young daughters I might be able to help you more...

Can you find some worthy charities to donate to in their names and then give them the Thank Yous that usually come from said charities?

No more hungry kids? How about donating to a soup kitchen or finding a program that provides food for kids during the summer or on breaks? I can't think of what we call it now, but our local school district solicits churches and other organizations in our area to pack bags for kids.

Or a family Terra Pass for the pollution thing: http://www.terrapass.com/about/how-carbon-offsets-work.html

You can't wipe it out, but you can help. You have some great kids.

I like Jo W.'s answer...LOL Get them a little tree to plant or seeds to start a little garden in the spring. Have them participate in giving gifts to needy children.

http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/OCC/index/

Be creative and get them fun gifts and surprises at Christmas! What a blessing your children are.

Your kids are awesome!

Maybe the best thing for you, wrappable present wise, is to put the radar on whenever you go shopping and see what they show interest in? Are they interested in crafting, etc.? Maybe there are kits you could get them - and they could give the crafts away to whoever they want if they wanted to (hospital, nursing home) so they can get and give with it.

A box of love to share?? That is the cutest thing I've ever heard! Love it! We need more people like that in our world.

Wow! What amazing children you have. You are doing an amazing job.
It sounds like they are old enough to volunteer in places like soup kitchens etc. Why not cultivate their good natures even more.

as for christmas gifts, why not buy them each more humble gifts like books or games or dvds that talk about the environment (there is the al gore one)...your children are special. i would nurture that.

best of luck. and you are a great mom if i did not write that yet.
jilly

How sweet! Kids can come up with the darndest things that pull on your heartstrings!! When my daughter was 4 years old she told me she did not want Santa to come to our house that year, when I asked her what he would do with her presents she said he should give them to the kids who lost their houses in Katrina!

Trees or saplings are certainly doable – make cool pots to present them in and then they can keep them indoors until spring when they can go plant them. Angel Fishy ornaments for the tree (made by the Elves) would be cute. There are plenty of charities & churches that are looking for donations around the holidays – maybe have them adopt a kid their age off of an Angel Tree at church or do some Stockings for the Salvation Army – my kids love to do those things.

Also, check out the web site for Kids are Heroes (http://www.kidsareheroes.org/index.html) and see what little kids around the world do to make a difference. There are 240 kids on there and some were as young as 4 when they started volunteering (obviously with parental help & support)! You can read thru the stories and your girls can see that even little things can go a long way toward making a difference in the world. Maybe it will inspire them to pick one thing they would like to focus on and make a difference.

As for something material to open on Christmas - I usually do something from Santa that only the Elves can make - nothing store bought - I check out eBay, Esty.com and local craft shows. My girls usually get something to go with their dolls and my son usually gets a wooden toy of somekind.

Keep nurturing that spirit in your kids, sounds like they are growing into beautiful, caring human beings!
~ B.

I wish my 7 yr old son were like this. He's so materialistic...he is always wanting wanting wanting every single toy. He has lists and lists of the stuff he wants. He is always begging for something. Maybe let them peruse through a toy catalog for fun. You can watch over their shoulder and notice what they like. Or walk them through a toy store and see what catches their eye!

I don't come with any ideas, but I do think that it is so great that your little ladies can think like this at their ages!! How did you get them to? I talk everyday about how fortunate we are, and we give back to our local charities and communities regularly, but my little's lists are very much for their own pleasure! CONGRATS on your sweet thinking baby girls...way to go MOM!

Why not do one of those adopt a child where you pay so much per month and you get pictures and updates? You recall the commercials "for less than a cup of coffee a day" things...also I just saw in the check out aisle of walmart stuff you can buy that is enviromentally friendly plastered all over it....buy this and save a tree type stuff. I think you can be creative, and make them happy. You have sweet and thoughtful kids.

What fabulous kids you have!!!! I'd love to get a list like this! Here are my suggestions (to go along with many other). Go to Home Depot and get potting soil and seeds to make planting kits for the trees. You could decorate some clay pots with their names and glitter or something fun to make this personal. For world peace, get some peace sign ornaments and have the girls make a wish (or say a prayer) and hang them in their rooms. They could add to that wish/prayer every night before bed. For hungry kids, get a case of mac n' cheese and let the girls go with you to deliver it to the food bank. Check around, lots of churches distribute food and the girls could go along to pack boxes for families in need. The chocolate is easy... of course, it would be fun to make some chocolate goodies. For no more pollution, get a small composting kit. Let the girls turn leftover food into worm food and then mix it into a small garden plot. Also make/buy little signs to remind them to turn off the lights when they leave a room and get them each their own recycling container (a decorated copier paper box works great) for papers and such. For the fish, buy 3 little fish ornaments and add wings and write the fishy names with a Sharpie on each ornament.
You got the BEST list I have ever seen and you should have lots of fun with it and still be within budget :)

Join them both to:
1. Amnesty International (world peace)
2. Green Peace (no more pollution)
3. Send out prayer requests for the fish (you can do this online)
4. Buy the seeds, and
5. Sponsor a child, or do an Oxfam gift of a goat or something to a poor village (go to their website) for the no more hungry children.

OR, because some of that can get expensive, send a letter to various world leaders and the UN on behalf of your children requesting world peace.
Send letters to big polluters such as car companies that are not making non-polluting cars, big industry leaders etc, the leaders of industrial nations such as China to request that they implement or legislate for less polluting methods.
Make a smallish donation to a kids charity, and start a facebook campaign for others to donate too.

Then get them them toys and candy.

Good luck!

Hi R.,

I don't know if this was suggested yet since I'm at work and probably shouldn't be on here (lol), but try Heifer International (heifer.org). I have donated to them a few times, usually as a Christmas gift in honor of someone who "has everything".

According to their web site, "With gifts of livestock and training, we help families improve their nutrition and generate income in sustainable ways. We refer to the animals as "living loans" because in exchange for their livestock and training, families agree to give one of its animal's offspring to another family in need."

It's a pretty neat concept and sound like it might be right up your girls' alley. Gifts range from paying $10 for a share of a $120 pig to $20 for a flock of chicks to $850 for a camel, as well as varous amounts for baskets or village assistance. Check it out and please let us know what you decide to do :~)

L.

First of all it's a little funny! =) It's wonderful, for sure, but it's still a little bit funny.

I mean, here you are being all practical so you can give them great gifts and still be responsible with your money, and they are on a mission to eradicate bad things in the world. At that moment I know I would be at a total loss!

Tree seeds or saplings are doable, but probaby not in winter...but maybe a "gift certificate" for a trip to the nursery come spring with a picture of the tree you are going to get and plant. Same with a family trip to a soup kitchen.

As far as figuring out what they want and like, my daughter can never think of anything to tell me, so I just casually leave out toys 'r catalogs or their weekly newspaper inserts and see what she gravitates to and likes. I do the same with my two younger ones who sometimes know what they want but don't know what it's called. Then when they walk away I circle what they were looking at so I don't forget.

As for world peace and an end to hunger, it's an awesome opportunity to talk about how everyone's personal contributions go a long way to helping the problems with the world and what they can each do to do their part. Maybe they get to be Santa just a little bit?

It really is super sweet, but I would be a little up in arms.

It's not impossible. Congrats on having such lovely compassionate kids. I know it must feel wonderful.
No more hungry kids? Sponsor one or more children - visit worldvision.com
Tree seeds or saplings? Buy them trees to plant. Or donate tree - visit treepeople.org (also helps with pollution)
Giving to others, esp in other countries, is one step towards world peace.
World Vision even has a gift giving catalog, allowing you to give animals, clean water, food and more.
If you bought an animal, maybe you could buy a stuffed one for your girls to symbolize the gift and help them remember what they did.
If you bought clean water, you could buy a special water container or bottle and write something on it to remind them of the gift.
And, so, on.
Also, look for stores that support worthy organizations. What if you bought your girls' Tom's shoes and explained that another child got a pair too!
Good luck :)

1. Get some cute decorative bags (like you would put wedding favors in) and put some acorns in them. Tree seeds - done. If you want to get super creative, go to the $1 store and get some trowels, etc. and you can have a planting party post Xmas!
2. Tell them we are all working on World Peace but in the meantime see if you can buy them an ornament or something similar from a group that is actively working on it!
3. canned food drive for the hungry kids
4. candy - easy - buy post Halloween when it's discounted!
5. no more pollution - promise them you will go on a walk or a bike ride instead of using the car sometime - you can even make up some little "gift certificates" entitling them to the walk/bike ride on your computer (also point out that new trees help get rid of pollution)!
6. get them each a new fish and tell them that until they can meet their fish again in heaven one day, Santa wants them to have these fish to keep them from being lonely. 1 more suggestion - have your girls write notes to their fish and attach them to helium balloons and release "up to heaven" - maybe buy them a cheap helium tank and balloons for Xmas (they sell them for $25ish at Walmart and Target). Go to the $1 store and get some cute stationary for each girl to go with it?

Now I think a trip to Toys R Us is in order for your little saints! Take some notes on what they play with while there. If you get truly desperate, just tell them straight out that Santa wants to know about at least 1 special thing just for them since they are on his good list! From your previous post, I know you can at least get one of them the science set they wanted. I think you're on your way to a very nice and memorable Xmas!

OMG, I so hear you.

I asked my son what he wants to put on his Santa List... and he said, "There's nothing I really want, mommy. Santa will just have to surprise me." Are you kidding me?

Oh, he does want notebooks and pencils. ?? Nothing like making "Santa's" job even more difficult!

I love this question. Your daughters are awesome. Someone really should write a Christmas-themed children's book about them, their Christmas wishlists and how each wish was tackled.

When all is said and done, please update us with a "So what happened" post. Thank you!

well i can say my kids christmas lists are much more expensive than yours :) that would be the day when my kids come up with "mom i would rather world peace than that new sparkly toy that does all the cool stuff i saw on tv while at grammys"... good job raising your girls!! but i vote for what the other mamas suggested and do the sponcer a kid for 50cents a day or whatever it is, they will feel they have a gift thats helping other kids :)

Let's see--
No more hungry kids--you could sponsor just one child. Helping one is better than helping none. Your kids would have a pen pal and you'd be making a difference.

You can go to a plant nursery and find a bonsai tree, or get a smaller tree that you can have in the house.

The best way to work towards world peace is to have peace in the home and within yourself. Have them work toward getting along with each other and the family, explaining that it has to start with one person---that's how it spreads.

Chocolate you've got covered---you could always go for the endangered species chocolate so it's supporting a good cause, and make sure you get fair trade chocolate (it means the workers are treated fairly among other things) to support world peace and taking care of the environment.

For pollution you could take a day to help clean a field (to keep plastics from getting in the ocean---look up the trash pile in the pacific). If you don't already you can start recycling in your home. You could make a point of buying foods that have small amounts of packaging. Use cloth bags when you grocery shop. They even have mesh bags for produce so you don't have to use plastic bags every time you go. Get them lunch boxes that have containers in them so you don't have to use plastic baggies. Get them cool water bottles (make sure they aren't plastic, but stainless steel like KLEEN brand) so they don't use bottled water. It's about stopping pollution on an individual basis. Get them power surge protectors that can be turned off so you're not using "ghost" power (if it's plugged into the wall it uses power even if it isn't on---by shutting off the surge protector you keep the appliance or electronic from pulling that energy, thereby reducing energy use and pollution). Get LED lights for their rooms (I've found them at costco).

As for the fish in heaven, I'm a little stuck on that one. It depends on your belief system on how you show that. Since I don't know your belief system I can't really comment.

Hope those ideas help. Oh, and if you buy toys you could always go for things made from recycled plastic, or things with no packaging, or art supplies where the paper can be recycled, or do a search for "green" toys.

Congrats on raising such aware and responsible kids!!
J.

That is very sweet!! I wouldn't worry, though. All those nice holiday shopping catalogs will start coming in the mail over the next couple weeks (I received the BJs toy catalog this week!), and I am sure they will find a couple items, or 3, or 4 to put on their lists. ;-)

I dont know where you live but for the hungry kids one try to find a local ministry or shelter that would let your girls come work, maybe a women's shelter, maybe they could do christmas crafts with them as well. There are probably some things on the internet that you could get that would send you tree saplings when they come into season. You could give the girls something that told about it that they would probably send you. I have to admit though you have a wonderful problem!! I just noticed your in Richmond Va thats my GS council. Search for Girl Scout Commonwealth Council. Call them and ask for info to reach local service project opportunities. You can also search the internet for girl scout service projects to get ideas for things that might satisfy their drive to help, or make it even stronger!
Hope that helps some.

R. -- your girls are awesome. That said, I can feel your concern. If I was Santa at your house, I would make a donation in each girl's name to a charity that they would like -- maybe even one close by so one day they and you could volunteer there. There are lots of opportunities like this. Some environmental charities have you sponsor a tree; some a child. But, probably, it would be most meaningful for them if you looked in Richmond, for say a homeless shelter or something like that and one day you could take them to help serve a meal. This is easy and will make them feel like they are working towards world peace or eliminating hunger. Then I would buy THEM some gifts to unwrap. You can get some kits at the Discovery store to actually grow a tree sapling -- or you used to be able to. Then, they can plant it when it gets big enough. Or maybe they could get some new fish for Christmas? Or something that won't die so easily -- hermit crabs? Good luck and congrats. on raising such great kids.

a.. coming up with tree saplings or seeds is easy, contact the arbor day foundation ..
b.. you are not going to get world peace without bringing sherman, grant, pershing and/or chesty puller back from the dead, and the last i heard arlington national cemetary didnt allow you to attempt this. grant is buried in new york, but work with me on this.
c.. you are not going to ever able to feed every hungry child, no matter what your credit limit is. but, your kids can help by volunteering at a local shelter, or doing a canned food drive.
d.. chocolate candy is an easy one
e.. no more pollution, not sure that this is doable
f... the three dead fish.. simple, make cardboard cutouts of gold fish, with harps, halos and wings.
our daughter got a visit from her "little christmas elf named little jimmy"
little jimmy left her a big teddy bear, woouldnt you know he left RIGHT before she rolled out of bed christmas morning but gave her mommy and daddy a big teddy bear to give to her.little jimmy just happens to have the same flame redhair that our daughter is blessed with, wouldnt you just know
K. h.

You have sweet children! And you have received some great ideas -- one more. There is a local (Northern VA) charity at Christmas time where you sign up and receive the names and ages of a family or a child in the shelter or foster-care system. They send in requests, and you buy them what they actually want for Christmas. You can spend a little or a lot, the woman who runs it is super-flexible, and loves if you can even give just a little! I got my little ones involved last year, and they learned the kids' names, and picked out clothes for them. It meant a lot for them. Message me, and I will give you her info.

What sweet kids you have. That being said, it still doesn't help you. How about giving them a couple of the Sunday newspaper ads and a marker. Tell them to pick 3 or 4 things they may want Santa to bring them out of the ads and circle them and put their names or initials next to it.

What sweet kids. I would do what you can as far as saplings and letting them help with gifts and service to others. For gifts, I would just go ahead and buy what you think they would like. Kids don't necessarily need to pick their gifts each time. Last year my 4 year old told me that what she told Santa was a surprise - at 4!!!