Christmas Spirit (Topic Discussion)

It is the time of cheer and joy – and giving: Christmas. Of course, for many of us it’s about receiving gifts, but there is also a lot of joy to be gotten from giving. If you think Christmas has become over-commercialized, then it’s especially important that you give a gift – and I don’t mean buying someone something, but giving away what you’ve already got. I’m talking about giving away some of your board games to spread the joy of our hobby to others.

I totally understand that this isn’t something everyone can do. However, if you’re in the lucky position of owning more board games than you actually play, then go through your collection and decide which ones you definitely need to keep, maybe for sentimental reasons or because you still play the game, and which ones you could give away. It might seem hard, but I can assure you that it will feel amazing when you’re done and know that someone else will enjoy your game.

You then have to decide how you want to gift your games and you have several options. There is still time to drop your game to your local supermarket, many of which collect games to be given to charities who will distribute them as Christmas presents to families in need. We used to give away a game when we attended the family Christmas service in our local church, but even though that’s not going to happen this year, it’s still worth checking with your church if they accept donations to be given away as Christmas presents.

Local community clubs also often accept game donations, but do check with them to make sure they can accept your gift at the current time, or if you need to take extra steps to ensure they can accept it. Sometimes libraries also gladly accept board game donations, but again you need to check with them first to make sure they are able to take donations.

Children’s hospitals are also usually open to board game donations, either to be used as presents for children in their care or to be put into the general pool of games to be played in the hospital itself. Again, do check with them first to make sure what you have to do to ensure they can accept your gift.

You can also donate your board games to a charity shop of course, so someone else can buy them at a much more affordable price and you support the work of the charity as a whole. That might not feel quite as rewarding as giving your games away for free, but it’s still a very worthy cause and many charities need extra support in the current climate.

If you want to look closer to home, you can give some of your games to neighbours, friends or family of course. Just make sure you pair the right game with the right people, which isn’t always easy of course, but when you succeed, you will have given a personal gift to someone close to you and spread the hobby further.

Lastly, you could sell your games and donate the profits to charity. That will take quite a lot of effort and time, but it will be extra rewarding when you deposit the money into the charity’s account. Make sure people know that the sale is for charity and offer the option to pay more than the asking price, because people tend to be more generous when something is for a good cause.

I’m sure there are other ways in which you can spread some Christmas joy with your board games. Have you done something similar? Have you got some other ideas? How does it feel when you give your games away? Please share your thoughts in the comments below. I’d love to hear from you.

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Audio Version

Intro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/)
Music: Christmas Party by AShamaluevMusic (https://www.ashamaluevmusic.com/)