This year when picking out my presents I decided to focus on giving meaningful gifts that help out the economy and the overall planet Earth.
The majority of my presents came from http://tenthousandvillages.com. You can find absolutely wonderful gifts at amazing prices here, but the really cool thing about this site is that they, "work with over 130 artisan groups in more than 38 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.... As one of the world's oldest and largest fair trade organizations, [they] build long-term relationships with artisans that are based on mutual understanding and respect. Fair trade enables artisans to earn a fair wage and provides the opportunity for a better quality of life," (Ten Thousand Villages. 2009. 7 December 2009. http://www.tenthousandvillages.com). Not only is it great to know that you are contributing to a wonderful cause, but there's just something about giving a handmade authentic gift that is not mass produced.
Another big gift idea for this season.....Buying presents from small businesses instead of big name, nationa
l chains. Nothing against Walmart, but did you know that when you contribute to a small business it improves the quality of the economy substantially more than that of a chain. One of my favorites is http://etsy.com (which many brides know about). I just can't get enough of Sweet Life Paper (http://www.sweetlifepaper.com), which I found on Etsy! They have the cutest personalized stationary and wonderful customer service to boot! Austin is an amazing city to carry out the idea of contributing to small business gift ideas. We are very fortunate to have wonderful and distinctly Austin shops around every corner. One of my personal favorite things to do is shop the jewelry stands (or any of the quirky stores) on South Congress. Not only are you contributing to small businesses, but you are also helping the local economy.Face it....The elderly are very difficult to shop for. If your grandparents are anything like mine, they have lived a long, amazing life and have just about every kind of trinket to prove it. Last year I decided instead of contributing to their collection of things that they really don't need I would donate to a certain charity for them. Last year I decided on Save the Children...This year I'm going with Habitat for Humanity. I'll write them up a letter and explain the contribution. They absolutely love it!
Well, I hope this article inspired you and helped you to find some meaningful gifts this year!
2 comments:
I also love Ten Thousand Villages. They have so many wonderful projects from all over the world. Last week I was actually in the store and saw some beautiful jewelry- at some great prices, too! They also usually have pottery, tableware (bowls, platters, sushi dishes, etc), and tons of other cool gifts-- that support a good cause.
Another note- The Heifer Foundation is another great charity you can support. This group is working to reduce world hunger and poverty and you can give money by picking an animal that you want to give and they will give the animal someone in need to help support their family. My grandparents have actually been doing this for all my cousins and I since we were young. Each year we get a card saying that we gave a certain type of animal, such as a Heifer, a goat, a llama, a flock of chicks, etc.
It's definitely a time to be giving gifts that not only make the recipient happy, but help others as well!
I love etsy.com! I actually just discovered it while wedding planning. It is one of my new favorite websites. So far from etsy.com I have bought:
*My invitations
*Custom Rubber stamp with our monogram
*Custom Designed Candy Bags (for candy bar)
*"Mr." & "Mrs." wooden signs for our chairs.
I will definitly have to check ten thousand villages out...
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