Why giving is the best gift

I really love this time of year for several reasons and not all of them involve eating way too many treats. I love this time of year because it gives me the perfect excuse to indulge in my favorite things. I love to bake, so everyone gets cookies and candies that are too rich for the rest of the year. I love to create with my hands, so everyone gets some sort of craft I've been dying to try out. I love to take pictures of my kids, so everyone (family mostly)get calendars or photo ornaments of my girls. But what I think makes this holiday so appealing for people is the permission to spend money on gifts and show our affection to our loved ones. Unfortunately  I do think the "obligation gifts" that have no real meaning to the recipient or the giver has left many people with the sense that Christmas is just about keeping the economy going by buying next year's garbage. "It looked good on T.V." "Mommy, I want that!". "Maybe my aunt could use a SlapChop".

Last year I did a post about different ways in gift giving and I still think those are great ways to create some meaning for the season. This year I'm putting my money where my mouth is and giving to a couple of organizations that can help make a difference in someone  else's life. I truly believe that there's no better way to feel a sense of abundance than giving to others. I've chosen to buy a Literacy Package through World Vision and provide a small loan through Kiva which does micro-financing. Although I've given a small amount to each, I know that the amounts will have a greater impact within those countries in need.
And for any of you who are a bit skeptical about your money being used up mostly by administration costs of the charity, Will and Jada Smith claim 100% of your donation will be used to fund clean drinking water through Charity:Water. The gift of clean drinking water would always be appreciated.

Are there any charities that you give to regularly during Christmas? Do you believe giving should be part of your entire year? Would love to hear your thoughts.

New ways in gift-giving

Now that we're fully into the Christmas shopping season, maybe some of you feel a little like myself and question whether we should be spending all this money on things we may not need. Now I know that as an artist that I shouldn't really be talking about needs versus wants for X-mas presents because most people don't consider putting good art on the wall as a necessity. However, I think that it we're going to participate in this mass consumerism, we should buy meaningful well thought-out gifts. Perhaps we could even buy items that do double-duty by being enjoyed by the recipient and the world at large. This is one of the many reasons why some people have made the "Handmade Pledge". By supporting small and independent artisans who create meaningful, well crafted, and small editioned pieces, we support processes that pose less of an impact on the earth and hopefully more of an impact on the recipient. I believe people appreciate the effort that they can see that has been made by someone's hand.

If you would like to take this idea a little further and ensure your gift is meaningful then I would like to suggest a couple sites for your online shopping.

The first site is Ten Thousand Villages which promotes fair trade craft items from people all over the world. Their site boasts numerous beautifully hand-crafted items for on the tree and under the tree. Last year I bought a beautifully decorated paper weight from Indonesia.

The second site is World Vision which has done a fantastic job of actually creating a Christmas catalogue to order from. While there are no items for under the tree here, the buyer does get to supply families in the third world with life-saving gifts such as medicine , books and live-stock. I love how the print catalogue has presented items to appeal to children. You may buy "The Three Little Pigs" or "Billy Goats Gruff" for a family and change their world for the better. You can pick the items yourself or you can give "gift cards" to the recipient and they can choose what items they want to donate.

So if this year you're beginning to wonder if you should really purchase the latest gadget that will be thrown out next year , maybe giving a few gifts from these sites might appeal to you. Happy X-mas shopping!