Big Lots Is My One Stop Shop for Giving Back

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #BIGSeason #BigLots #CollectiveBias

During this time of year, my family and I love to give back to our community. I make it a point to teach my girls the true meaning of the holidays and the beauty of giving back to others. Every year we participate in local food and toy drives. My girls love to go through our pantry and pick out canned foods and they love to pick out new toys for toy drives. This year my daughter’s job is promoting a local toy drive, so my girls and I knew what we had to do. We grabbed our coats and since Big Lots is my one stop shop for giving back, we drove to our nearest Big Lots and went shopping.

When we arrived at Big Lots, we went straight to the Toy section and started having fun. They had so many toys to choose from that were great for kids of all ages. Then we went to the Christmas area to look for wrapping paper and tape that we could also donate. They had such a huge selection that it was very hard to pick just one.

Toys drives are an awesome and easy way to give back to your community. I’ve participated in a lot of toy drives over the years and have learned some best practices. In an effort to help those that may be thinking about participating in a toy drive, I thought I’d share with you some of my tips:

• Stretch your dollars: Avoid buying one toy or item. Try and buy little toys so there will be more toys for the kids.
• Remember the older kids: Often times we are quick to grab a cute toy or stuffed animal, but there are older kids that are in need also. Older kids can be hard to buy for but try and think outside of the box. One idea is to purchase art kits, journals, and cute writing pens.
• Don’t just donate toys: Consider donating wrapping paper, tape, bows, and batteries. There are so many toys that require batteries and some parents cannot afford to buy them. In addition, Santa’s elves may need extra paper and tape to wrap the presents.
• Get creative: Put together arts and crafts kits. Kids loves to create, but they don’t always have the right supplies to express their creativity.
• Purchase quality items: Try and buy quality items. It’s not fun to have a toy break after playing with it for a few hours.
• Games: Consider donating games. I love to donate games in hopes that families will be brought together by incorporating a family game night.

“Styles and assortment vary by store.”

My girls and I were amazed at how far our dollars stretched at Big Lots and how we were able to get everything that we needed for the upcoming toy drive. We made sure to purchase toys for kids of all ages and both genders, art supplies, wrapping paper, games, and so much more.  With the budget that we allowed ourselves for the toy drive, I was very impressed with how much we were able to purchase and that we were able to make Big Lots our one stop shop for giving back this holiday season.

Do you give back during the holiday season? Have you considered making Big Lots your one stop shop this holiday season?