Thoughts about gifts...

Giving gifts is a wonderful thing. And there is nothing better than finding the perfect gift that you know the recipient will love. Receiving is also special. I love using items given to me because they have more meaning to me. But both Dav and I don't like the pressure to give because of a holiday. Like Dav, I don't want to buy something just because I feel obligated to. I still tend to get into gift traditions though as I don't want to disappoint people, yet I have conflicted feelings. In addition, as the environment and my actions that affect it become more important, I cringe at all the wrapping paper, and stuff. Nice, fun stuff, but still stuff that we probably wouldn't have if there wasn't the gift-giving tradition around the holidays (that is commercially-driven). I don't want to seem ungrateful as I totally appreciate people thinking of us. But again, I feel conflicted. This year I decided to try something new. For a few for whom I did want to give gifts, like my niece and nephew, I bought them donations. So the money I would have used to buy something that may or may not have pleased them (I've goofed up before on buying items that weren't hip and in) went to a cause I believe in. I could feel good about giving such a gift. I decided on the World Wildlife Fund. It was perfect because with the donations, I got nice cards that I could send to my recipients, and with that card, they could go to the website and decide which animal to support, AND they could get a cute stuffed animal along with an informational card about the animal. For children, it's nice they still get a little something. I also bought a few of donations from Oceana, and sent penguin cookie cutters that came with the donations. I think I will give such donations increasingly. If I find gift things that are useful and perfect, great. If not, I will give a donation.