Creative Holiday Gift Ideas

Ah yes, it's that wonderful time again: when giving becomes confused with money and materialism, deeper meanings are overshadowed by the frantic ringing of cash registers, and families go into debt for the coming year.



Want to opt out of the crass commercialism? Homemade gifts are great, of course, but also time-consuming. If you'd like to purchase gifts, but want them to be more meaningful and less materialistic, the Natural Resources Defense Council has some great gift suggestions emphasizing green/sustainable living, including national parks passes, solar chargers, night scopes for catching glimpses of nocturnal creatures, and lots of other creative ideas.



One of my favorites on their list is Heifer International, an organization that helps communities all over the world escape crushing poverty by giving them animals: cows, goats, chickens, lambs, and more. Recipients pledge to pass on their gift by sharing their animals' offpsring with others. The HI program promotes sustainable living, strong communities, and peaceful cooperation. You can donate in honor of those on your gift list in amounts from $10 on up, so there's something for every budget.



The ELCA (the American Lutheran Church) also has an alternative gift-giving catalog; donations can be given to a wide variety of projects from disaster relief, to community development, to feeding the hungry, to hiring teachers for refugee camps. Donations can be as little as $1, so this is a great option for kids. Also in the family vein, this article from Penn State has some good suggestions for intergenerational gift-giving.



Want more choices? Charity Navigator is a non-profit organization that has evaluated over thirty-four hundred charities nationwide; here's a list of all their four-star charities, including Jewish, Catholic, and nonreligious organizations.



Whatever you do, I hope you'll find a way to look beyond the glitzy surface of this holiday season and celebrate the values of love and generosity instead.