Christmas in July-Teaching my Son to be Santa!

When I was single, I used to go with my best friend to the New York City post office at Christmas time. Operation Santa was a program in which Dear Santa letters from around the country (thousands of them) were collected in one spot for anonymous good Samaritans to pick up and surprise an unsuspecting child with. Each year we'd pick a few Dear Santa letters that were utterly adorable or touched our hearts, and we'd mail the child the gift of their dreams.

Now I'm a mom, and I still love to visit the NYC Post Office and continue the tradition. My son? He comes along with me, to listen to me read him letters so he can pick a child in need for us to give a gift to. I hope to teach my son generosity, compassion, charity. I hope he will grow up into a man we can be proud of, one who helps people without asking for anything in return (or even to be acknowledged- anonymously), for no reason than the sake of giving and helping someone.

Penelope Guzman is the mom of two boys, and the author of Penelope's Oasis, a site focused on building strong families and happy marriages.

photo credit: frac