It's time, again, for moms and dads everywhere to gear themselves up, financially and emotionally, for the annual guilt-assault by retailers. Christmastime means that parents have to learn about the most up-to-date toys and plan on how to buy them, in order to make their childrens' Christmas special.



That list of toys and goodies your child wants changes every year, a change that is spurred on by the army of retailers who advertise just to your daughter, convincing her that whatever she got last year isn't nearly as wonderful as this year's model. So Santa has a whole new intricate and precise list of things to bring.

And as much as you want to help Santa make your child's Christmas the most special holiday ever, you worry just a little, every year at this time, that by fulfilling all of her Christmas wishes, you will spoil her.

Besides that, there's the matter of space. Where can you possibly store new toys? Last year's crop, along with those from the year before, seem to inhabit every spare corner available. And most of them haven't been played with or touched in months or, in some cases, years.

Realizing how much good stuff you've lavished on your child is when you acknowledge that a lot of the stuff that has sat around since last year just might make another child's Christmas incredibly happy, this year. Dozens of charitable organizations in your town would be tickled to have a small portion of your child's unused toys and dolls, to distribute to less fortunate children, this Christmas.

You may have to teach your child about the concept of charity, but, chances are, she already knows how good it feels to cause someone else to smile. And she will probably easily grasp the notion that Santa insists that she be good, if she expects goodies on Christmas morning. Helping another child to smile is definitely a way to get into Santa Claus's good graces.

You can tell your child, too, that by donating, she's actually helping Santa do his Christmas Eve job. By using some of her donated toys to help the less-fortunate, and picking them up at your local charity outlet, Santa can start his journey with much less weight on that sleigh. Rudolph, especially, will be happy.

And, really, by the time your daughter opens her new toys on Christmas morning, the toys she chose to donate will be long forgotten. And reminding her of her charity, and the joy she helped bring to another family, may help to instill a lifelong habit of generosity in your child.