'tis the season

Posted by David Griswold, Google Blog Team

The holiday season is a time for reuniting with friends and family, reveling in stories and sentimentalities, cozying up to a cup of warm cocoa, listening to a fire slowly pop and fizzle. It's a time when we ease ourselves out of our routines, and have a moment to share our joys with those who are nearest to us. And the season affords us a unique opportunity to step back and empathize with people who face hardships throughout the world.

This season, Googlers everywhere are not only celebrating the joys of the holidays; quite a few of us have joined together to give back to our local communities. Whether it's helping kids craft public service announcements, contributing to toy drives, gathering donations for food banks, working with high schoolers on their college apps, writing get-well cards for sick children, or pitting teams of chefs against one another for charity, Googlers have made it a point to get creative.

We've assembled pictures from these events in this album, and encourage you to find a way to give back in your own community.