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We don't usually donate for the holidays but I do other times. I really like donating to the Humane Society most times. I also really like Heifer International, I just like the idea that I bought people chickens or a cow or something!
We do one every year. Usually I give to international causes, but this year we're going to support some local families through Feeding America.
Never has there been such strain on local food banks. More American families have food insecurity than ever before.
We do the Angel Tree- a program in our town where people choose a child and buy gifts for him/her. For the past couple of years we have done two instead of giving each other gifts. We don't need anything. I'm sure your town has something similar, or you could always give a couple of toys at Toys for Tots or something like that.
We "adopt an angel" every year from our local NAMI organization. We also drop off dog toys and blankets to the local animal shelter a couple days before Christmas. We usually donate to local organizations over bigger charities just because we're more involved with them.
I think your idea of donations as gifts for you and your Fi is a great idea! I think every little bit helps, and the charities you choose will definitely appreciate your thoughtfulness and generosity!
We donate every year. This year the family bumped down their Secret Santa gifts and everyone donated $10 to do a Wish List for a kid. We have 20 people in on it. I would have rather donated $20, but everyone raised a fuss about it only being $10/pp. If i get to a Walmart, I make it a point to buy some stuff for the Toys for Tots basket on my way out. This year, personallly, I'm doing some pet charities and Homes for our Troops
I would love to donate, im a very giving person, but after buying for my entire family (i have 5 brothers and sisters) i just cant scrape of enough. id feel bad if i didnt give to my family first but i really wish to help those less fourtunate, especially since at one point i was homeless myself.
OMG I just noticed that the side ad on the page is for Heifer International!
MissAB: I hadn't heard of Heifer International so I just googled it. How cool! I like the idea that you help someone and then the offspring of the animals are given to help others as well.
We adopted 3 angels this year and have given numerous times to the Salvation Army at most store fronts.
DG: I am considering giving to my local crisis center, which among other things runs a food bank. They have a list of the top needed items so I was thinking maybe donating like that or just doing a straight money donation. IDK.
I like everyone's causes! Its sort of hard to pick because so many things are worthy.
We sponsor a wish for the Make-A-Wish Foundation every year - that is our big one. We also give individually to American Heart Association, National MS Society and LLS.
DG - our office (architecture) participates in an event called CANstruction & all of the proceeds from the builds go to the Greater Chicago Food Depository. It is such a neat event!!
My family always exchanges sheep and bunnies and the like with Heifer. Long standing tradition, I love it.
I also really try to give charitable gifts when doing those obligatory gifts. Instead of giving the boss/professor/FBIL's girlfriend (you get my drift) a mug, I usually make a donation in their name or give them a gift certificate to Kiva, which does microlending.
I also make a conscious effort to choose gifts wisely. I often give fair trade items from SERRV or other programs like that. My brother is getting a pair of TOMS shoes, which are sustainable shoes and for every pair you buy, they give a pair of shoes to a child. I spend a lot of money for Christmas, so I try to make it mean something more.
This year FI and I are doing really well financially (very lucky), so we adopted a family in need and are providing their presents. I've been having fun shopping for baby clothes and jackets and toys and a car seat, etc.
I give a little something to several places, Massachusetts SPA, Heifer International, Shriner's Hospitals.
But we still go gifts- just not breaking the bank, about $50 max for each other, and then our families have a $20 limit on gifts to keep things reasonable.
I normally donate every year around the holidays, usually to a local animal shelter, but this year I adopted a solider through adoptaussolder.org.
This year my hubby and I bought a Wii for each other and then we're just doing small separate side gifts for one another.
I adopted two kids through a program we do at work - we adopt an elementary school and buy gifts for all the kids. I also was a shopper for 5 other children, so I feel like I adopted 7!
We set a limit on our gifts to one another - he just graduated (like, yesterday!) and I just got a new job but started making loan payments, so we're definitely having a toned-down christmas this year!
We adopt a family every year and buy them all of their Christmas gifts! It's really fun trying to figure out what each person would want, and we do all of the shopping on Black Friday to get the most for our money. This year we're making them a holiday dinner as well! We've been doing it for years and it's my favorite holiday tradition. It's nice to know that the family can have a nice Christmas without worrying about how to pay for it.
@quiche: They do CANstruction in my office too! It's so fun!
wow, there are a variety of causes you've all listed and many I hadn't heard of before.
it's not specifically a gift, but we do donate, mostly to hunger issues or toys for kids
This year my department at work (7 people) adopted 2 families through one of our city’s programs. Both families are single mothers with children who are transitioning from the family shelter to an apartment, so we get the kids clothes and toys, and the mom’s useful items like a microwave, basic pot/pan set and gift cards to a grocery store.
FH and I give a donation of bags of cat food and canned cat food to the shelter we got our cat from, usually every few months, but a bigger donation at Christmas time.
I am (helping) to cook a Christmas dinner for homeless vets in our area. I’ll bring a ham to cook, and then cook up some homemade mac & cheese, mashed potatoes, and one other side dish (likely, a salad).
For gifts to each other this year, FH and I are going halfsies on a Wii-Fit. We decided not to give each other any other material gifts this year.
I have a portion of every paycheck taken out and donate that to the United Way. Because I do that, I generally don't give extra donations at the holidays but I have adopted an angel from the Angel Tree before and I will participate in local canned food drives and the like.
We adopt needy families through a local battered women's shelter.
Every year I get a a name from the one of those trees. I did 2 this year (a 2-year-old boy and girl). I also gave blood! (I'm DEATHLY afraid of needles!)
I bought gifts for two angels this year (a 12 yr old boy and a 12 year old girl). I don't have any kids that age in the family so it is really fun seeing how much I can get for my money! I also donated some dog food and treats to a local no-kill animal shelter that adopts out of our local petsmart every weekend. And family always doantes canned food to the Salvation Army.
I didn't grow up with much, as my mom was a single mother to three daughters. But she has always told me that no matter how little you have, there is ALWAYS something you can give.
Even if you don't have the money, I am sure you have an hour or two to spare to volunteer for a needy organization :)
I donate a set amount to UNHCR every month, and FI sponsors a very poor child in a town south of Seoul. During the holidays I always make a donation to our local animal shelter (where our cat children are from), and give to the Salvation Army because there's less of a food drive culture in Korea over the holidays.
www.oxfam.com is really cool.
I've done that for gifts for my family and friends for a few years now, they have gifts as cheap as like 12 bucks. It's for a good cause as well.
I've done Heifer a few times and love it and I also love doing the Angel tree!
We firmly believe that generosity is taught so donating is a big part of our family year round. But we definately amp it up over the holidays!
* Every year we give each of the kids $20 and turn them loose at WalMart to buy gifts for Toys for Tots - they really find some great deals and aim to buy as many "cool" things as possible for the money.
* We watch the sales flyers throughout November and December for non-perishable foods that we then drop off at our local food bank.
* The kids all go through their rooms during the first week of December and box up all the toys that they've "outgrown". We've established a rule that you have to donate as much as you want to ask for - so if their wish list is 10 items long they find at least 10 items to donate!
We give to the Humane Society every year. We also made a donation to a local food bank this year. The economy is so bad here, that there are so many people who are going hungry this holiday season. We also went through a lot of our clothes (after we've both lost weight, a lot of our winter stuff is too big this year!) and donated some sweaters and winter coats to the Salvation Army. I also recently made a donation after seeing this episode of Oprah, discussing different women's health/safety/education issues around the world.
I donate 20 hours a month of my time as a counselor for our local suicide prevention/crisis intervention hotline. I also buy presents for the Adopt a Family program at my church, which gives presents to woman and children in shelters.
My family loves Heifer International, so many of my family members asked that people donate there in lieu of buying a materialistic present. I "bought" my grandmother a goose, my aunt a beehive, and my cousins chicks and ducklings.
My family does a lot of charity through the church all year, especially hunger related work, so we don't necessarily give for Christmas. Though I would like to start a tradition of giving to a charity on XMas so that it keeps the focus away from just getting gifts.
If you're interested in giving to charity this Christmas but aren't sure where to start, I love Charity Navigator. It tells you all about the finances of these charities and whether or not they should get your cash.
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So the other day my SO and I were talking about Christmas. Every year we go back and forth over whether or not we want to give each other gifts. Usually we are like...eh I don't care or no. So this year we are thinking maybe we should do a donation. Like I pick one and he picks one and we donate to the other's a set amount. We are poor poor poor right now (I'm a student and he's relatively new out of school and doesn't make much) so it won't be much, but still. Even a little counts right?
Do you do this (either in addition to gifts or alone)? Do you have a favorite cause? Do you prefer to donate locally, nationally, internationally, or have no real preference?