Well, Thursday is shopping morning here and as usual I bought a meal (savoury Mexican rice as it happens) to put into a box we keep at church. We keep the church open during the day and the box fills up with donations from people throughout the village, not necessarily church-goers. The contents go to the local charity which helps the homeless and others on the edges - all our Harvest donations go there, too. People can find themselves homeless or desperate for all sorts of reasons, usually beyond their control.
As for modern children and materialism - tell me about it! 2 of my grandchildren have been spoilt rotten to the extent that I told them the other week that if the presents I give them are not used or appreciated (they haven't been) then the giving will stop. I think they were quite stunned, but they know that I mean it. Most people have too much these days
My mother made our clothes and others came from jumble-sales, little was bought new and I had 1 pair of shoes, 1 pair of pumps, 1 pair of slippers and 1 pair of wellies - I thought I was well off. I made my children's clothes too. We had a giant village Jumble Sale a couple of years ago and people flocked in, they are a rare event these days.
Just thought I'd join in. :)