Simple Suggestion #189 ... Give a gift that makes a difference

What do you want for Christmas this year? Is it something you really need? I could use some new oven mitts -- but if I'm totally honest, the ones I have still work just fine (though they're a bit worn and kind of ugly from past baking "accidents"). And the rest of the stuff on my Christmas wish list isn't really essential to my well-being, either -- or anyone else's, for that matter.

So I'm thinking I should be more like my mom. For our family Christmas exchange, she put "men's briefs" on her Christmas wish list. Not because she's odd that way, but because she knows that there's always a shortage of underwear for homeless guys who visit the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Clothing Room where she volunteers.

What if everybody on the planet gave/asked for gifts that made the world a better place for others, not just for themselves? Here's a funny little video in that vein to make us all think!

There are many organizations that provide necessary items to those who need them -- in our own back yard or in the developing world. Even better are those organizations that help people to help themselves, like microloan groups.

If Kid President (who is pointing his viewers to Unicef's inspired gifts.org website) has you thinking, here are a few more websites worth a visit:

Donate toward housing a family (Habitat for Humanity)

Give a microloan to help someone make a living (Kiva.org)

Donate toward justice issues in the developing world (Development and Peace)

Give an education (Mennonite Central Committee)

Donate food producing livestock (Food for the Hungry)

Give the gift of food (Canadian Foodgrains Bank)

Donate water  (Plan Canada)

So here's a note to the person who has my name in our family gift exchange: Ignore everything I may have told you that I want for Christmas. I'd be happy to receive a donation to any of the above organizations! Or, some men's underwear...

P.S. Looking for more Simple Suggestions? Click here.

A stuffless Christmas?

Here's a little musical medley/commercial about how to have a counter-cultural, stuffless Christmas. It carries a few really good ideas that have worked for us. Hubby and daughters helped me to put it together at our kitchen table a couple of years ago.

If you're reading this, you probably already know how to be kind to the planet AND have a holly, jolly, stuffless Christmas! But you might consider spreading some of these ideas to people who have yet to realize that Christmas consumerism is helping to mess up the earth beyond its ability to repair itself. The best Christmas gift we can give future generations is a healthy place to live, and the knowledge that it's relationship, not stuff, that makes us truly happy.  

Christmas giving... all year round

Today is my day to work at the clothing room of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. It's actually a 500 sq foot foyer in a tiny former chapel next to St. Joseph's High School here in Edmonton (the nave is where we store donated furniture and household items that we can deliver to those in need). The clothing room offers free clothing items to newcomers, people living below the poverty line, the homeless... anyone, really, but we exist mainly to help those who can't afford to shop for the basics (see here.)

Often when we get to these dark December days, we find ourselves struggling to keep up with the demand for almost everything winter-wear related, but especially men's and boys' clothing, specifically long underwear and socks. And I'm sure there are many other charitable agencies who are lacking specific necessities on any date you care to choose.

So here's the challenge: if you have a life of "enough" (or perhaps a bit too much), choose a charity in your neighbourhood and give them a call. Find out what they need, and do a little Christmas shopping for them. And consider doing it in January and February, too, when the Christmas giving campaigns are no longer in the news, or maybe even July and August. Again, better than investing in an ugly tie or a box of chocolates!