If you are stumped on some Christmas gifts this year for your friends and loved ones I have found some wonderful ideas. Don't let your self get swallowed up by all the commercials that tell you how much you need this or how much you want that. Ask yourself...Do I really need that or do they really need that?
I was talking with someone the other day and I was saying how I have always had all of my christmas shopping done before Thanksgiving but this year, I can't find the motivation to get it done. Maybe it is because I am lazy and hate fighting crowds or maybe it is because my kids have an abundance of toys and clothes and I can't think of a single thing they need. I went to Target the other day looking for presents for my kids and after about an hour I walked out of the store with mittens, hats and a couple of fleece character blankets (Star Wars and Captain America they will love them). I left feeling this overwhelming annoyance at the pressure of buying the best and the latest and greatest of toys this season. I couldn't find a single thing that I didn't think my kids needed or wouldn't throw aside after 10 minutes and never to play with it again. The thought of waste makes me crazy. Since being home from Africa I haven't been able to understand all this stuff that we have. I cannot wrap my mind around why we (meaning me and my family) think we need all this stuff. Yet I continue to get sucked in by the overwhelming I Want Syndrome... Anyway...After telling my friend this she responded with "Well Christmas isn't about giving what someone needs, it's about having fun and giving them fun gifts". Sure! iIt's about having fun, we need to have fun, but, I didn't feel satisfied with that answer. I still felt uneasy and wrestles and like there could be more behind giving gifts. Christmas is really about giving something to some one in need, right? And if that person receiving isn't really in need and we are buying them anyway, shouldn't that gift be useful? Isn't there a way that you can give and still be giving back to the ones in great need? I know it is the season of giving and I absolutely want to give. I mean Gifts is my top Love Language I show love by giving gifts and receiving gifts. So... I totally want to Love everyone this season with gifts but I want to do it with gifts that mean something. A gift that will help them and someone else because I purchased it from them. A gift that is really fun and pretty to someone and also a gift of a hope to someone in Ethiopia or India or Haiti or China.
This kind of gift eases my annoyance and brings a peace and excitement to my heart. I have listed below some of my favorite gifts that give back.
This site has amazing things you can purchase for someone in Ethiopia. Things like Goats, Donkeys, Blankets, Vision Care, One house for $400 for a family in need, formula. The list goes on and on.
These pretty Bird that hang on a wall are recycled from old Oil Drums. The purchase of these will make a direct impact on artisans in Haiti.
With your purchase of coffee from this website you can be involved in Adoption and Orphan Care, Breast Cancer Awareness, Community Outreaching and more. You can purchase coffee from Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia, Peru, and my personal favorite Ethiopia.
Of course and another personal favorite TOMS.
This gift give 3 ways! If you purchase it from me friend Wynne (link can be found below) some of the money helps bring her precious Camp home from Ethiopia. While the rest of the money goes back into the community it is from.
This pretty Necklace is made from melted down from old weapons and other metal. Pretty resource EHH?! Below are a couple of my favorites from her site.
Another one of my favorite is 147 Million Orphans. They have really cute stuff and everyone loves it. I get lots of questions when I wear my 147 gear.
This shirt will feed 1 child.
The purchase of this bag will help 147 build a well in Sudan for the native village of the man who sews them. You can find the story on their site.
www.147millionorphans.com
There are many many many more fair trade items all over the web. These are just a few that I hold dear to my heart.
From Wynne Elder
From Jennifer Verme
Have Fun shopping!!!!!!
love you! thanks for always talking up Noonday!!! love a fair trade christmas :) love you!
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