allison's favorite giv-ings!

Oprah, eat your heart out.  WAIT!  Stop eating.  That was a euphemism.  But, seriously, folks.  Let's talk about the holidays, shall we?  It's a time for giving.  A time for spending.  A time for junk and sales and paper and waste and...  EERRRR!  That's not the spirit.

And yet, it is.  We spend way too much time and way too much money commercializing the holiday season...including yours truly.  I don't deny the fun and joy and sparkly pleasure of a big pile of crinkly paper and the beeps and whirrs and clicks of shiny new toys.  I am, after all, American.  But I am launching a new initiative this holiday season to get everyone to make one tiny little addition to their Christmas giving lists this year.

Make one donation.

Pick one person that you really, truly love (and that won't get mad at you for not getting them Christmas socks or dangly feather earrings) and make a donation to the charity of your choice in their name.  You can still shop at Old Navy and help transnational corporations pay their CEO's frillion dollar salaries.  But you can also buy an African village a water well.  You tell me which one is going to make more of a difference.  (And if you say Old Navy, so help me I will come over there and stick my old Christmas sock RIGHT up your nose.)

And allow me to also point out the ridiculous ease and speed of giving donations as it takes mere moments and can be done the same morning you realize you are leaving and you don't have a gift for your cousin you'll be seeing that afternoon that you just found out got a gift for you.  Problem solved.

And if you must buy gifts, buy responsibly!  There are tons of stores out there that will donate part of the proceeds of their sales or will chip in a donation to an organization with your purchase.

If you do a little peekin' 'round the innernets you will find hundreds of charities and organizations that want your money.  STAY!  Do not run away.  I can help you.  It's easy to choose a charity if you know what YOU care about.

I will be posting to this here site helpful tips about how to choose a good charity and some helpful suggestions of charities, orgs, and stores that I like.  Hopefully you will trust me enough to let me guide you through the giving process and then you can go off on your merry way toward making the world a better place, one reclaimed paper bracelet at a time.

Please also feel free to comment, email, Facebook or Tweet me ideas for this here blog.  Many thanks.  And now, back to your turkey hangovers.  Happy Thanks-GIVING, all.