During the 2016 holiday season, the average American consumer spent $588 on Christmas presents and a total of nearly $800 on Christmas related items. As early as Thanksgiving week, millions flooded to stores or went online to get a head start on their holiday shopping or to finally get their hands on the one thing they wanted to buy for a while. At the same time, over 40 million people in the US (or 12.7% of the population) lived below the poverty line. Those people, living from paycheck to paycheck or depending on welfare, didn’t have the luxury of holiday shopping.

In this country, there are countless of organizations that aim to support struggling families and give out food, clothes and Christmas presents to children whose parents can’t afford to provide them. Yet in today’s society, many are so busy fighting over a pair of shoes or a new computer on Black Friday that they have forgotten what the holiday season should be about – being grateful for what we have and giving back to those that are less fortunate.

Of course, spending money around the holidays is nearly inevitable. It’s around this time of the year that thousands of people travel across the country to reunite with their loved ones. Most families have their own traditions surrounding the holiday season – buying and decorating a Christmas tree, preparing special meals, opening presents together. Therefore, the additional costs associated with celebrating holidays are unavoidable.

People definitely shouldn’t do away with buying presents, going out of town or preparing a holiday meal. Such family traditions are important and need to be preserved. They should simply consider setting aside money to donate to charity or taking time to volunteer at an organization that helps battle poverty. It is certainly true that many people already do so – statistics show that donations to charities such as the Salvation Army and the American Red Cross are on the rise. However, the problem of poverty and homelessness in the US is far from solved and even small contributions can make a huge impact on someone’s life.

Besides helping those that are in need of assistance, giving back can have surprising benefits to those that choose to help, including improved mental health. Our society has become increasingly materialistic – people seem to find more satisfaction in buying the newest iPhone than having meaningful experiences and interactions with others. While shopping has been proved to contribute to a better mood and an increase in happiness, it can’t match the feeling of fulfillment that comes from knowing you have helped make a difference in someone else’s life. According to the Harvard Health Publications, the increase in happiness among regular volunteers matches that of someone whose salary increased from $20,000 to $75,000.

With so many ways to give back, it’s sometimes hard to know where to start. The large number of existing charities may be enough to discourage some people from doing research to choose the organization they want to contribute to. Once they decide to take the leap and start giving back, however, they find that the experience can be just as rewarding as giving their loved one the perfect Christmas present. So, this holiday season, why not do both?