Santa Baby, Hurry Down the Chimney!
By Lyn Jackson
December 2005
It’s time again for another round of
the holiday hustle. Or not. Sadly, these days, seasonal
shopping seems to have lost a lot of its allure, becoming
yet another mad dash to fulfill someone else’s idea
of giving – a simple grab, go, get it done. But it
doesn’t have to be that way.
2005 would be a good year for getting back
to basics – a year for looking at all that really
matters in life – a time for reflection after a year
of unprecedented natural disasters, a year of many lessons.
Why not put some of them to use? It’s easy to forget
what we really do know: the importance of home, - even if
it was a place you left decades ago - the importance of
family, friends, food, water and shelter, the fundamentals
of life; simple and few but crucial, the importance of and
respect for mother nature and the finite nature of natural
resources, and the relative unimportance of material goods
and massive consumption in an often greedy, throw away society.
No skipping Christmas, Chanukah or any other
holiday you generally celebrate. Instead we suggest a simple
reordering of priorities. This year, give your gifts more
meaning - make them memorable gifts of time, love, shared
experience, fun and family.
After the horrors of countless hurricanes,
tsunamis, earthquakes, mudslides, raging forest fires and
other disasters, natural and otherwise, here and around
the world , we can all agree, the significance of the generosity
of strangers is huge.
This
holiday season, give the gift of charity in the name of
a loved one. Your choice. Support a relatively quiet non-profit
that always needs help, doing good works here at home, like
Prevent Child Abuse NC, Guardian ad Litem, The Healing Place
for Women, SafeChild, Interact or countless others. Or pick
a well-known national or international charity that could
use your help as well – and remember our Troops –
alone and abroad. If anyone ever doubted the size of the
gap between the haves and the have-nots, lessons from Katrina
alone should make you doubt no more.
Look also, of course, at the needs and wants
of those you love. Usually the most cherished and remembered
gifts of all are those that came from the heart; thoughtful
presents that require more than a trip to the mall.
Give the gift of travel – call your
favorite travel agent and plan the trip that you’ve
always put off – the one that you’ve dreamed
and talked of taking with others. Whatever the destination,
go there with loved ones and make memories for a lifetime.
Where, doesn’t matter but when - as soon as possible
– and with whom – those you love – does.
Can’t get there this year but have great
memories of trips taken – experiences shared
in the past? Put together individualized photos albums or
personalized DVDs for each family member or friend with
whom you’ve shared fun, meaningful times. Write a
joint personal history to go along with it.
In fact, a personal history or personalized
photo albums or DVDs – even one without the theme
of shared trip or experiences – can be meaningful
and heartfelt gifts. Simply taking the time to collect,
organize and mount photos in an album can mean everything
to a person short of time.
Other gifts for those short of time –
services. Hiring someone to clean, cook or do yard work
once a week or twice a month can be a huge help and a great
present for almost everyone.
We all cherish our own gift of good health – although
more often than not we take it for granted. And while a
yearly physical isn’t a particularly exciting or compelling
present, a gift certificate for a long delayed eye surgery,
teeth straightening/whitening or simple cosmetic operation
might be. Get recommendations from your family physician
or other trusted source. If a loved one has long expressed
interest in a particular procedure, it might be the best
boost and best loved gift ever. But stay away from liposuction!
Right up there with the importance of time
and health – stress reduction and relaxation. Gifts
of massage, facials, manicures and pedicures are always
popular and yoga or dance classes can also be a good fit.
Some even suggest the best present of all might be a gym
membership or a treadmill for relaxation, optimum health
and stress reduction..
For a gift that some might consider a bit
“out there” literally and figuratively –
name a star after your loved one. At least half a dozen
outfits offer the gift. It’s sounds surprisingly inexpensive.
But as it’s not “official” it turns out
to be essentially an expensive piece of paper. Still the
thought and the romance of it all do have their appeal.
If money is no object and you and your gift
recipient have a particular fondness for, well, bugs, for
a mere $10,000 you can name, truly and officially, a species
of ants found in Madagascar after someone you love, like
or really, really, really want to impress!
As another unusual gift, turn a family photo
into a Warhol-style pop poster. A graphics gift company
based in California can turn your photograph into original
artwork in under two weeks for less that $200.00.
Make memories. Give the gift of time. Offer
the thrill of a lifetime. Not that there’s anything
wrongs with furs (fake, of course)! But his year, resolve
to make it meaningful.
Celebrate the joy of the season. Remember
peace, hope, love. Experience the pleasure, the delight,
the thrill of giving.
In an ideal world, holiday shopping would
be fun, and gift giving would be uplifting for both the
giver and the receiver.
This year, make it so.
Resources:
Prevent Child Abuse NC - www.preventchildabusenc.org
Guardian ad Litem - http://www.nccourts.org/Citizens/GAL
The Healing Place for Women – www.hpowc.org/women’sprogram.htm
SAFEchild - www.safechildnc.org
Interact – www.interactofwake.org
American red Cross – www.redcross.org
Troops – www.usocares.org
Pop Posters from Family Photos – www.photowow.com
Name an Ant Species – www.antweb.org
