I unfortunalty am very time poor, it is very hard to find a babysitter for six kids, 4 of them with special needs. So making time to help at shelters is not an option for me. However every year we do the wishing tree, thats when you buy a present and place it underneath the tree at your local KMart and they pass it along to a charity. We also do Christmas shoe box through school, you fill a special box with pencils and craft and little gifts and the local church sends them overseas to children in need.
I like to remind my children that even during our hardest times we are far better off than a lot of people.

Merry Christmas to you and your family as well.