Great suggestions so far. I agree that the point is to build the giving habit, and having the kids see the result is a good way to reinforce it.
We make the giving part of our holiday festivities. We have a "giving game," with a game board made up of spaces the size of dollar bills, with our chosen charities' names on them. DS has his Share bank emptied for the year, and DW and I also have a pile of $1s, so that we are playing with the same scope. We take turns placing $1, sometimes more, on the charity of our choice. When we do that, we either say something we are thankful for, or talk about why we picked that charity. The game keeps going until the money runs out.
We match his donations, in a way, but in truth the dollar bills are votes to help us direct our overall family charity budget.
Charities start with who we gave to last year, but we have some blanks spaces for qrite-in candidates, too. Write-ins are either checked out on Charity Navigator, or are local, small fry places that we know or want to get to know.
DS is a heavy thinker, so this works for him. He does think about the game whenever he gets some cash to stash: birthday, tooth, etc. He also is on the lookout for charities to add, and has let some others go. Recipients include church, current public school, former private (nonprofit) school in Ireland, global charities, and local organizations. Smaller ones, and ones we have personal connections with, are better with feedback and thanks. But the biggies usually send a Christmas card, at least, and we display these with our family and friends cards to keep them in mind.
It's a lot, but while we do it, it's not too long, but not too short, fast paced, and fun.
