Now that it is, yikes, mid November, I need to start thinking about Christmas. I’ve blogged before that I’m as low-key as you can get when it comes to present buying and shopping. I don’t purchase gifts for many people and don’t usually want anything myself. I would rather people give money to charities then buy me something, of course I accept that close family and friends always want to purchase something so I do usually end up with gift cards (usually for a coffee shop and restaurant) that I can use through the year! I always think this blesses me with being able to help friends by taking them out for a meal or coffee when they can’t afford it, so in many ways it is still put to good use. Also with being in the midst of unemployment (and being single there is only my income) gift cards will certainly come in handy!
This year I want to be purposeful about Christmas. The reality is I don’t need anything so I still don’t want any presents (although I have a good friend looking for a coveted pair of bear claw salad tongs for me which I will very much appreciate!) but there will be a few people that I will be buying and making for and I desperately want their gifts to be purposeful too!
So what will I be doing during this season of unemployment? Keeping it simple and making sure every penny spent helps someone in need.
I will be buying for four friends, my mum and my young cousin.
My mum – I will be purchasing her favourite coffee and hot chocolate (in large quantities) which you can not get in the UK as well as her favourite magazine and a small gift card because my mum does not spend a penny on herself. Because these items are not fair trade and are not helping others I will be spending the amount of money I will spend on her, sending a Christmas basket to a family in Guatemala. As found on the Mayan Families website
For $35 you can give a Christmas Tamale Basket and feed a family of 12 or more. Our Christmas basket is made of plastic and will be used afterwards by the family to stack and wash dishes, hold food etc. The food items will include: Oil, 15 lbs of Rice to make the tamales, a block of drinking chocolate (this is traditional to drink at midnight), a loaf of bread with which they eat the tamales at midnight, raisins for the tamales, grapes, apples, sugar for the Tamales, 5lbs of meat, tomatoes, one pound of coffee and leaves to wrap the tamales.
For my friends I will be making each a knitted dish cloth (sadly the only thing I can make!) hand knitted by yours truly in organic earth friendly cotton. I will also be purchasing a good gift each. For one I will be getting her an Africa Bag handmade by someone in Malawi! This friend is very socially conscious but walks around with mass corporation reuseable bags, she also has a real heart for Africa so it seems like the perfect gift!
For Friend 2 I will be making a donation in her name to the Fistula Foundation a fabulous organization I became passionate about after reading The Hospital By The River. If you believe that women have the right to live without being exiled due to complications from rape and childbirth, this is the organization to support! I will also be making this friend homemade cookies!
Friend 3 I will be trying to find something from Toybox Charity to send as her Christmas gift or a bracelet from an adoption fundraiser I found out about!
Friend 4 I will be trying to find bear claw salad hands but have yet to find any that support a Canadian or American first nations community so I will continue looking!
Finally for my cousin I will be purchasing a handmade gifts from Little Travellers and Toybox!
I also plan to bake hundreds of cookies & mincetarts and deliver them to my local food bank for the volunteers, the police & fire stations, the local homeless shelter & YMCA and perhaps the emergency room at my local hospital. This is something I’ve wanted to do for years and this year it will be a reality!
So there you have it, simple, wholesome and homemade (even if not by me! lol)
p.s. Thanks for all the lovely encouraging comments on the last post! I’m really really trying to stay joyful and count my blessings even among a huge move, unemployment and many short term problems!
I think I love you…..I surely sympathize with trying to maintain an upbeat attitude and daily living of service when the dark clouds roll overhead. Your ideas for christmas gifts are wonderful; I thought you’d be giving away some of your yummy canned items.
By: lcg on November 11, 2009
at 4:06 pm
or lcg you are too kind, although it does feel nice to be loved
I am giving away canned items but going home for Christmas now means a LARGE amount of traveling and I don’t believe it will be possible to take glass!
There’s a hint for a blog post to come…!
By: Frugal Trenches on November 11, 2009
at 4:12 pm
Your philosophy around gift giving is similar to mine. For me this is relatively new-found as I used to do the typical consumer thing while my children were younger and bought lots of “stuff”. I now go down the route of charitable donations and will be looking for fair-trade items for the one gift each that I will buy.
It’s a nice idea to provide others in the community with home-baking – that is something I will look into too.
By: Kiwi Chick on November 11, 2009
at 4:44 pm
that is so good of you. I wish there were more people like you in the world..
Gill in Canada
By: Gill on November 11, 2009
at 6:07 pm
fantastic post, again! so encouraging and inspiring.
keep your smile on – this too shall pass [and soon it will be CHRISTMAS!! :p]
the best bit about christmas, for me, is the family and friends and magic of it. all of that is free (materially) and so precious. i also forsee a lot of baked goods and homemade gifts this year…!
xx
By: rachel on November 11, 2009
at 6:12 pm
I can’t wait to hear about your cookie baking adventure!
Thank you for the Mayan link. I am definitely going to check that charity out.
By: Money Funk on November 11, 2009
at 6:19 pm
Wow!! Sounds like a great way to spend Christmas!
By: Frugal Dreamer on November 11, 2009
at 6:57 pm
What wonderful ideas. I love that you gave us the links to check out these organizations, thanks! We have been moving toward doing Christmas very much like this for years. I’ll need to do a post on it, and some of the things we’ll try this year as well. Thanks for the inspiration!
By: Michelle on November 12, 2009
at 1:37 am
Thank you for these wonderful thoughts and ideas! I would love to bake for the homeless shelters and the police and fire stations, but I was told that they don´t take any homemade food.
By: Hilde on November 12, 2009
at 3:33 am
I think it would help if we all took a step back and looked and what we buy, where from and why. Even one less gift and the money donated or one bought from a charity could make a difference.
Lisa x
By: Lisa on November 12, 2009
at 5:47 am
I was sorry to hear about your troubles in the previous post and agree with the commenter who said things always seem so much darker at night. I hope things are sorting themselves out and am inspired by the way your thoughts are always directed towards who you can help next. Thank you for the Mayan Families link. If we can find money for all the ‘extras’ we buy over Christmas then surely we can add someone to the list who will really appreciate what we give. I’m hoping to have a more ‘homemade’ Christmas this year and have a couple of projects already on the go for presents. Hopefully time won’t run out on me. x
By: Teresa on November 12, 2009
at 12:15 pm
Thanks for the wonderful ideas! I bought a couple of Christmas gifts at a local shop yesterday, but I want to be on the search for items that are even more sustainable and charitable.
By: thisthriftedlife on November 13, 2009
at 12:50 pm
you are an amazing inspiration, FT!! (what IS your first name lol??) you’ve given me some good ideas, too. most of what i’ve purchased for christmas gifts this year were made by local/regional artisans and crafters. every year i also give to my favorite organizations/charities: St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital is first, followed by the Central Asia Institute (Greg Mortensen of Three Cups of Tea, for girls’ education/women’s empowerment projects in Pakistan and Afghanistan), the Louisville Ky Food Literacy Project, Kids With Cameras (so girls raised in India’s brothels can attend school). I will also knit something for a local Center for Women and Families (for domestic violence survivors), probably bake for a fire department nearby …. For a few friends/family members I will be giving scarves and dishcloths I knitted. I will be avoiding the shops like the plague over Thanksgiving weekend. I just can’t deal with that crowd/mentality. at all. I also would love to donate a bag of organic food to a local food bank. Hopefully this list can help someone else who’s stuck for an idea.
By: Karen on November 14, 2009
at 10:09 am
**i think giving of your time is important, too, when and where you can!!
By: Karen on November 14, 2009
at 10:09 am
and don’t forget to nix the “new” rolls of christmas wrapping paper. i’ve wrapped gifts before in paper bags tied with pretty ribbon, i’ve used fabric scraps, and i’ve also put things into baskets. let’s help our earth this christmas, too.
By: Karen on November 14, 2009
at 10:12 am
I love your gift ideas and you’ve given me some inspiration for next year. God bless as you transition to 2010.
By: Joyful on January 6, 2010
at 7:29 pm