10 Offbeat Charity Gifts that Do the World Good

[Flaxbee]

(also posted in Frugal & Energy Efficient Living and the Lounge):

If you're looking for gift ideas this season, and want to donate to charity in someone's name... check these out (from Treehugger.com)

http://www.treehugger.com/slideshows/culture/10-offbeat-charity-gifts-do-world-good/

This holiday season, put that Snuggie budget to better use and help a charity do something productive in the world: Wrap up dung for crops, a tree for a butterfly, the wellbeing of an octopus, a camel for milk, and more. These offbeat charity gifts contribute to environmental and social causes around the world.

Plus, your giftee will appreciate not having to make room for a new gewgaw, the recipients of the charity will appreciate the help, and the landfill will appreciate the dearth of packing, shipping and wrapping materials. Win, win, win!

[lunasun]

1. Done a few of these and more

our family does this for each other instead of material gifts
last yr my sister's family gave us a pig from # 6 charity

[Flaxbee]

2. terrific. It's always a great reminder this time of year that

there are alternatives to stuff ...

[dballance]

3. Quite a while ago my family agreed to stop the Christmas Wars

You all know; the wars where we try to outdo one another with our gifts. Not that silly manufactured "War on Christmas" where to any thinking, breathing person it ain't going away and is in no danger no matter how much talking heads and ministers swear it is.

My family began by deciding to draw names for gifts at our annual Thanksgiving celebration. You could only buy a gift for Christmas for the person who's name you drew. Of course, you could still shower the kids with any amount of gifts you wished - or not. I know that took a lot of stress out of the season for me.

Then we kind of just evolved into a time when all that mattered was getting together and gifts were unimportant. So we stopped with drawing names and exchanging gifts in favor of have the wonderful gift of being together even if it was only one day a year.

[Flaxbee]

4. kicking this for the day crowd

[a la izquierda]

5. We're sponsoring dogs at our local no-kill shelters...

for our siblings. Not a one needs anything material. We told our family to donate to an animal charity or Sandy relief. I neither need nor want anything.