On the evening of Halloween a few weeks ago, I braved the throngs of candy craving children and made a fairly out of character solo trip to the mall. I was scheduled to attend a costume party later that night and had not even given thought to what I was going to wear, and in an act of desperation stopped there hoping for inspiration.
I didn’t find a costume (I ended up donning my Dad’s plush bear hat and my Brother-in-Love’s claw slippers and went as a Teddy Graham), but I did find myself face-to-face with row upon row of Christmas gift displays. I was stunned and a little panicked at the sight. Was it actually time to start thinking about Christmas shopping already?
Now, it is still a little early to start any major shopping expeditions (I tend to begin mine the week before Christmas, when you have to park illegally on parking lot medians just to get inside a shopping centre), but it’s never too early to start planning.
I don’t know about your family, but mine is fairly difficult to shop for. They know what they like, and they usually already own it. Because of this, I usually end up defaulting to your typical and overdone last minute gifts. You know, the old standbys such as socks, underwear, CDs, snowflake themed pajamas and movie gift certificates?
Bo-rrrring.
I’ve set a goal to do something different this year. I want to purchase gifts that are unique, that are globally and socially focused, and that will make a difference in someone’s life.
And thus, I've decided to create my OWN Christmas gift-giving guide, for the socially conscious. If you’re like me and feel like rebelling against the traditional hum-drum Christmas gift, here are a few (of many) ideas to get you started.
For the business-minded: Wouldn’t it be cool if you could make a micro-loan to an entrepreneur in a developing country? Four-year-old Kiva Microfunds makes it possible. The site operates to “connect people to alleviate poverty.”
This is how it works: potential loaners browse through photographs and bios of entrepreneurs from around the world on the
Kiva website. Once they’ve selected the entrepreneur they want to support, they do so on the website using Pay Pal. The entrepreneur uses the loan to either start or build upon their own business, thus improving life for themselves, their family and their community. The loaner can keep up to date with their progress through email journals, and can track repayments (the lenders are expected to pay the money back in full).
Once the loaner has their money back, they can choose to lend it to a new entrepreneur, donate it to Kiva (which is a nonprofit organization that operates on donations) or withdraw the money from their Pay Pal account.
Gift certificates are available, so the lucky recipient will have the ability to scour the website themselves and choose their own entrepreneur to loan to.
Check it out! www.Kiva.org.
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For the animal-lover: Who doesn’t have someone that fits into this criteria on their Christmas shopping list? While I’m sure they love the cat calendars and paw-printed book marks, why not make their wildest dreams come true and buy them a live elephant?
Okay, that may be a bit of wishful thinking, but for $50 you can sponsor an elephant at the Calgary Zoo in yours or your loved ones name. With each sponsorship comes a certificate, a “biofact” sheet, and a stuffed elephant. Cute! Other animals available for sponsorship include a giraffe, koala, lion and others. Click here for more information!
A more local approach for those looking for the paw-fect gift (anyone?) is the Alberta Guide Dogs puppy sponsorship program. Sponsor a guide dog in training (in your loved ones name, of course) for $250 and become an integral part of a program that greatly enhances the lives of blind young people (or individuals with autism). The recipient will get to keep a framed glossy photo of their absolutely adorable little puppy, a letter giving information about their sponsored pooch, and quarterly “pupdates.”
The best part? At the end of the 22 month training period, the sponsor will receive a picture of their dog with its chosen partner, as well as a letter outlining the many ways their life has changed since the arrival of their canine friend.
I WANT!
For more information about the puppy sponsorship program, contact Susan Deike at Alberta Guide Dog Services at 403-258-0819.
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For the green guru: Take a deep breath in. Now let it out...slowly. Although it wasn’t wrapped in fancy wrapping paper and adorned with ribbons, Mother Nature just gave you a very important gift. Why not return the sentiment? The Nature Conservancy offers eco-friendly gift ideas that are better than the bees knees.
Give your hard to shop for uncle a $50 subscription to the quarterly Nature Conservancy magazine, which will in turn help to finance water conservation activities that are working to protect the flow of fresh water to people around the world.
Or, adopt an acre in Australia in the name of your travel-crazy sister. Also for $50, the funds will go towards protecting and restoring Australia's Gondwana Link, which contains a third of Australia's known flowering plants. She’ll get a gift package announcing the donation, a personalized certificate with a photograph of the site, a subscription to Nature Conservancy, and a bunch of other sweet things.
You can adopt acres all over the world, in places like East Africa, Brazil, Costa Rica and Papua New Guinea. Check it out at adopt.nature.org.
Happy planning!
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