I have to admit that I've become a bit disenchanted with this holiday. I still love Christmas music, all kinds, and I love the decorations and the idea of the "Christmas spirit," but I guess that's where my Christmas lovefest has taken its biggest hit in the last few years. I'm not Christian--imagine, no religion--but I do think there are some good ideas to follow with the whole "do unto others as you would have them do unto you," "love thy neighbor," "don't be an a$$hole" (oh wait, that was probably Dan Savage, not Jesus... good ideas work in mysterious ways).
This post is likely too late to make much of a difference for your gift-giving plans now, but I thought I'd throw it out there anyway in case the man/woman/kid/uncle/second-cousin-three-times-removed in your life's birthday is coming up and s/he's got everything they've ever wanted already and you really can't imagine spending money on another Louis V bag/wallet/perfume/sock (just the one, for the budget-conscious). I've written about it before but I think it's worth mentioning again that I think a GREAT alternative to gift-giving is giving the money you would've spent on a gift to a charity that has meaning to the recipient.
This year was a little tight, so I haven't made any monetary donations to any of my favorite causes (the usual suspects include: This American Life, NPR's Storycorps, Planned Parenthood, KPCC, Cup of Joe for a Joe, and Democrats Abroad), but I have recently started volunteering my time (a commodity I find myself with less and less of as well these days) with HaitiCorps International, a group whose mission is to economically empower Haitians through fair wage employment and training. I am particularly interested in their latest (and first!) endeavor, The Handbag Project--low-income women in Haiti who have been affected by violence are trained to make handbags, from start to finish, in leather and fabric. They are paid a fair wage and this little-project-that-could will hopefully turn into a self-sustaining social enterprise that not only continues but is able to expand using the funds from the sales of the bags they make. You can "like" HaitiCorps International on Facebook and follow @haiticorps_intl on Twitter. Unfortunately, the twitter feed is a little dead right now, but the founder, Brent, will be heading back to Haiti in January to deliver more materials and check on how the program is going. Things will pick up then.
Okay, this post has become a bit rambly (no, really, that's a word...). Over and out.
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