As an only child and an only grandchild (on both sides!), our daughter gets a lot of stuff. She receives more than enough gifts for Christmas, birthdays and, well, just about any holiday.
Last year she received plenty of great Christmas gifts, including a new bike, tons of art supplies and clothing. Her birthday comes less than six weeks after Christmas and we always end up with more “stuff.” I was up to my ears in “stuff.”
So for her fifth birthday, I decided we’d ask the friends coming to her birthday party to bring a donation for The Art Bus Project, a mobile art studio. I read an article about the Art Bus and thought it sounded neat. Plus, it falls right in line with Kate’s love of art. The friends who came to her birthday (at the studio where she takes art classes) brought art supplies instead of donations.
A couple friends brought gifts anyway but that was fine. We ended up with a nice bag of supplies that Kate and I delivered to Margaret Crane – the art teacher behind the bus idea. She gave Kate her own Art Bus smock and they posed for this photo.
It was a small step toward trying to teach Kate life isn’t about “stuff” and that birthdays aren’t just about presents but about celebrating another year of life and the people who are in it.
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I didn’t know you and Kate did that for her birthday. What a nice idea! I’ve also seen where people donate to the local humane society for birthdays.