Thoughts upon waking
Nov. 13th, 2004 08:18 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
magentaThis was running through my head, so I caught it and wrote it down. I think it's important.
The season of the gift-giving winter holidays is nearly upon us. Before the race to the presents starts in earnest, I want to offer a new meme. Well, not really new, but worth repeating. This season, lets not feed the corporate greed machine. Don't buy THINGS to give people in the coming weeks, especially from commercial sources. There are three very good alternatives. One is given something you've made yourself: knit a hat, bake cookies, paint a picture. Another is to buy directly from craftspeople, at craft fairs and elsewhere. The third, and my favorite, is to make donations to causes you – and the recipient – support. You can knit a scarf, but will the person like the color, and design? Do they even wear scarves, or do they have several already? Most of us have lives cluttered with materials possessions. I don't need another scarf, whether the giver knitted it themselves, or bought it from a master knitter at a craft show. I would much prefer to know the money went to Heart of the Beast, or Wellstone Alliance, or the Nature Conservancy. I have plenty of mugs and knick-knacks. Better to send the money to Philanthrofund, or District 202 or the Human Rights Campaign. I have no idea what sizes people wear, or what colors they like. A donation to the Science Museum or the Minnesota Historical Society is always in good taste. My Christian in-laws loved the gift of a donation to the Fellowship of Reconciliation as much as I loved giving it. Even if you don't agree with relatives or friends on politics, a donation to the Red Cross or the American Cancer Society will always be well received.
I know children of certain ages will not agree with this idea. Presents are important when you are five or six or seven. Give presents selectively to children. If they are old enough to know that other kids are getting things and they aren't, yet not old enough to understand the concept of donating to causes and charities, a few gifts may be in order. Talk with them, if possible. Some kids get it quicker than others. If you think they will feel deprived without a tangible gift, at least be selective. Give them a chess set and a certificate good for a few games, to give them face to face time with a caring adult. They need that more than all the computer games in the world. Give them a book you liked as a kid, but buy it from an independent bookseller – we are lucky enough to have many in the Twin Cities – not from Amazon. Above all, don't buy at Wal-Mart.
Giving donations instead of gifts helps everyone three ways. It cuts out the corporations and their greed. It cuts down on clutter in our lives. And it helps those people that you and your friends want to help. Remember, you vote with the dollars you spend. What do you want to support?
If you agree with this, please pass it on. Post it in your LJ, but if you quote me, please credit me. If you have ideas for ways to donate, or other alternatives to the usual buying frenzy, please post them and let me know.
The season of the gift-giving winter holidays is nearly upon us. Before the race to the presents starts in earnest, I want to offer a new meme. Well, not really new, but worth repeating. This season, lets not feed the corporate greed machine. Don't buy THINGS to give people in the coming weeks, especially from commercial sources. There are three very good alternatives. One is given something you've made yourself: knit a hat, bake cookies, paint a picture. Another is to buy directly from craftspeople, at craft fairs and elsewhere. The third, and my favorite, is to make donations to causes you – and the recipient – support. You can knit a scarf, but will the person like the color, and design? Do they even wear scarves, or do they have several already? Most of us have lives cluttered with materials possessions. I don't need another scarf, whether the giver knitted it themselves, or bought it from a master knitter at a craft show. I would much prefer to know the money went to Heart of the Beast, or Wellstone Alliance, or the Nature Conservancy. I have plenty of mugs and knick-knacks. Better to send the money to Philanthrofund, or District 202 or the Human Rights Campaign. I have no idea what sizes people wear, or what colors they like. A donation to the Science Museum or the Minnesota Historical Society is always in good taste. My Christian in-laws loved the gift of a donation to the Fellowship of Reconciliation as much as I loved giving it. Even if you don't agree with relatives or friends on politics, a donation to the Red Cross or the American Cancer Society will always be well received.
I know children of certain ages will not agree with this idea. Presents are important when you are five or six or seven. Give presents selectively to children. If they are old enough to know that other kids are getting things and they aren't, yet not old enough to understand the concept of donating to causes and charities, a few gifts may be in order. Talk with them, if possible. Some kids get it quicker than others. If you think they will feel deprived without a tangible gift, at least be selective. Give them a chess set and a certificate good for a few games, to give them face to face time with a caring adult. They need that more than all the computer games in the world. Give them a book you liked as a kid, but buy it from an independent bookseller – we are lucky enough to have many in the Twin Cities – not from Amazon. Above all, don't buy at Wal-Mart.
Giving donations instead of gifts helps everyone three ways. It cuts out the corporations and their greed. It cuts down on clutter in our lives. And it helps those people that you and your friends want to help. Remember, you vote with the dollars you spend. What do you want to support?
If you agree with this, please pass it on. Post it in your LJ, but if you quote me, please credit me. If you have ideas for ways to donate, or other alternatives to the usual buying frenzy, please post them and let me know.
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no subject
Date: 2004-11-13 08:30 pm (UTC)We just got back from Lenexa where they had the British Fair (we helped out at the Cornish Society's table), where I bought a couple of jars of jelly and a hand-knit pot holder for next Sunday's bridal shower for my brother's fiance. I also bought some candies to give to my other brother's large family of step children at Christmas. (And I confess I spent money on a couple of things for myself and was beating myself up for it on the way home.)
But back to what you wrote, I had been thinking of this year making donations to things that each of my siblings would want to support and then giving them that and maybe a plate of cookies to share. I mentioned it to Frank today and said we could discuss it more later.
After reading your journal just now, it makes even more sense to do that. My parents have for years asked for that type of present from all of us and it has given me great joy each year to think of something to donate to or some way to help someone else to honor my mom and dad at Christmas. Why not extend that joy further? I'm going to give some serious thought to what you have written and how I could best capture the true spirit of the season.