Nothing Works

Boycott Toy Drives

On the last day of school before Christmas break, I pulled into work listening to Steve Harvey's morning show on an L.A. radio station. The staff there was doing what seemed like a noble thing: collecting toys for kids who wouldn't get any. Then I heard a father call in and ask for free toys so he could pay the bills. I had no real problem with the father or the radio station, but I got out of my car wondering where the father's guilt came from.

It didn't take long to figure out that it came from the rest of us. Every year, people buy so much stuff that those with less money wind up having a hard time for all the wrong reasons. By lavishing friends and relatives with gifts, we give others the gift of shame. I know I'm not the first person to realize this, but hearing an impoverished parent's embarrassment over asking for a handout neither he nor his children needed really bothered me.

There is a great solution to this: boycott all toy drives. If there are families in the community struggling to make ends meet, why give them things they will not need? If a family does make ends meet, but cannot afford gifts, why give them anything when there are others who are truly poor? Why give action figures when you can give food? Granted, there are some material gifts (even toys) that can be educational or enjoyed by the whole family. Still, by supporting toy drives, I cannot get past the possibility that we're telling children that Christmas is about materialism.

In the Iranian film Children of Heaven, a poor young boy loses his sister's only pair of shoes. Knowing his father would punish him severely if the shoes are not recovered, the boy and his sister look all over. When they finally find them, the shoes are on a young girl who is even poorer than they are, so they let her keep them. This is an act of giving far more valuable than anything dropped in a Toys for Tots box. It also reflects a principle of giving we should instill in others: everyone, regardless of tax-bracket, can sacrifice something. Why can't Christmas giving be purely charitable? Does it have to be about helping others acquire more stuff?

This Thursday, many children will receive toys as a result of well-meaning adults who think kids need the latest toys to be happy. My wife and I have bought several different toys for our nephew, all varying in price. His favorite continues to be a cheap ball from a fast food kid's meal. Perhaps we should teach him the more expensive toys are the ones he's supposed to like.