Image: istockphoto.com/Russell Tate
(Dec 21, 2007) We all want to give gifts at the holiday season but we seem to have lost the notion that it’s the thought that counts. As we sink deeper into debt, more and more of us are reconsidering the whole gift giving scenario.
Here are some ideas from the
Network of Spiritual Progressives for no-buy gifts for the season:
Gifts of time
Wrap up a handmade certificate promising to do one of the following things, or something else that would be especially meaningful to the recipient:
Do a home repair or a home improvement project for someoneTake someone's car in for service if they don't have time, or perform the maintenance for them yourselfGive someone a massage or facial or other spa treatmentCut someone's hair, if you have that skillGo somewhere togetherHelp with wedding planning or managing some other large projectRun errands for someoneHelp someone move to a new home or to transport large or heavy itemsPrepare a meal for someone, or cook a meal togetherHelp in someone's gardenOffer landscaping services to someoneHelp someone care for an elderly relativeVideotape or take photos at an event important to the recipientBabysit for new parentsTeach a skill you haveRedecorate someone’s room.Shovel their walkwayHandmade giftsMake fudge or their favourite cookiesKnit or crochet something for someoneMake a scrapbook or photo album for someoneConvert someone's old video reels into a DVDShare your own produceMake handmade soap or candlesShare a talent (write a song for someone, a poem, a painting, etc)Create a handmade guide to something--for example, a booklet of movie recommendations or book reviews that you have writtenFrame your own artwork, give it to someone you care aboutMake your own cards from recycled paper
Other ideasLeave a recorded message on someone’s phoneGive something you don’t use anymoreBuy a used book, and write on the inside cover why you chose that bookGive away a valued possessionDo some community service together with the familySponsor a child in the name of a loved one.Donate to their favourite conservation organization"
For years I've run "holiday stress" groups and heard first hand about the depression and despair that afflicts tens of millions of Americans, either because they can't afford to purchase the goods that are advertised in the media and set a standard of consumption beyond their means, or because they purchase and deepen their personal debts, or because they don't receive the quality or quantity of gifts that they've come to believe reflects how much they are really loved. But there are better ways to show love besides giving things.
The shopping frenzy between Thanksgiving and Christmas effects everyone—I've seen it undermine Chanukah as well as Christmas, and afflict those whose only connection to the holidays is the purchasing of material things...Time is more scarce and more precious than goods—so this is a gift that shows real generosity. And not using up more of the earth's resources is a gift to the earth's environment that will yield fruit in the years ahead."
Rabbi Michael Lerner
Rabbi Lerner is editor of Tikkun and chair of the
Network of Spiritual Progressives and author of
The Left Hand of God.
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