I ended up buying one of my brothers something very small for Christmas. It was so small in fact I felt it needed a card to go in (my other gifts were wrapped and tagged). I was in a hurry, on my way to the post office and planning to stop and pick up a standard un-eco holiday card when I walked past the Oxfam shop. I went in and found a way to make my small gift more meaningful with an 'unwrapped' card.
Oxfam, an incredible poverty fighting organisation, sells goats and chickens and beehives and toys every Christmas BUT not for you. For $10 I actually bought a chicken, which will go to a family in Laos to provide income and nutrition. And my brother receives a snazzy card, telling him about it.
It's just such a fantastic idea in that you can buy relatively inexpensive cards to use as regular holiday cards or you can spend $495 a pick up a buffalo. It's just madness and commonsense combined! I recommend you check out all the cards, that you can even buy and mail online.
Thank you for this post! I didn't want to partake in the consumerism of Christmas, and especially after reading this post on Zen Habits I wasn't sure what to do. But now my boyfriend and I are going to donate goats, chickens, bees, and seeds for our friends and family instead (as well as small handmade gifts!)
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad this post helped you. It is such a good idea. happy christmas x
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