Practicing Generosity as a Family

The practice of generosity provides rich opportunities for faith formation in your family. There are many ways to encourage generosity, but here are some resources and ideas to try.

Start Here

Start your family’s journey into generosity with our resource 5 Ways to Practice Generosity with Kids.

Generosity Watch Party

A family watch party is a great way to start talking about generosity together. Here are some ideas:

  • With younger kids, watch a read-aloud video of The Rainbow Fish, or read the book aloud if you own it. Then talk about these questions together:
    • Tell about a time when you gave something away to someone else. How did you feel?
    • Tell about a time when someone gave you something you really wanted or needed. How did that make you feel?
    • What things do you have that you could share with other people?
  • With older kids and teens, watch The Bible Project’s Generosity video for a great overview on the theme of generosity throughout the Bible. Make a list together of all the ways your family experiences God’s generosity. Then talk about how feeling deeper gratitude for God’s gifts might lead you to share more generously with others.
  • Watch Kids with Character: Generosity to see how a $100 Christmas gift ended up changing many lives. Talk about the video together. What might you do with $100 to make someone else’s life different?

Generosity Jar

Want to help your kids be more intentional about giving generously and about discerning between wants and needs? Make a Generosity Jar! Here’s how:

  • Decorate a jar with colorful paper, stickers, or whatever your kids choose.
  • When a “want” comes up (like “I want ice cream,” or “I want a new toy”), one option is to put the money you would have spent on that item into the Generosity Jar. This isn’t just for the kids—adults can (and should!) participate too.
  • Then, at the end of the month or the end of the year, count up the money in the jar and have a family meeting to decide together how to give it away. Older kids and teens can research and propose giving opportunities. (This can be a great New Year’s Day activity!)

More Generosity Ideas