All I want for Christmas is no-thing
December 4, 2009 by Liz Canavan
Filed under Inside You, Simply You
I’m not popular around our Christmas tree.
My sister had to warn my fiancé about what I like to give for “gifts,” and he wasn’t into it.
He asked me to never give him chickens that would actually be donated to someone else. My cousins seem to tolerate my unusual gift exchange. I do wonder if they feel shorted in some way when they give me gloves, and I give them a card informing them of a donation I made in their honor.
For many reasons, I like to give gifts from Heifer International (www.heiferinternational.com). To put it simply, I give the gift of bees, a chicken, pig or part of an ox to someone I will never know, who lives in a rural area and needs farm animals for their family’s livelihood. My friends and family receive a card saying this animal (or part of one) was given in their honor.
They don’t get the animal, but they receive the good feeling of donating something useful to someone in need.
Lots of people I love don’t dig this idea. They want to know where their “stuff” is.
We give each other disposable, wasteful, cheap stuff. And again this year, I am making a stand against it. Why? Because I’m obsessed with stuff — what we need, what we buy, what we keep, what we use, how things are made, how things are disposed of, theories of consumerism, realities of our fragile environment, the psychology of stuff and gifts and how twisted our displays of “love” have become.
Reasons I like donations instead of gifts:
1. No one ends up with stuff they don’t want: No clutter.
1. No trips to The Mall to exchange an item (exhausting, crowded, cold walk from a big parking lot, careless, encouraging over-consumerism).
2. No guilt-storage of an item you will eventually throw in a landfill 20 years later because it’s obsolete, broken and can’t be donated.
3. No guilt-wearing of items (bad sweaters, ugly scarves) that make us feel bad.
2. Minimal waste: Heifer has optional, printable cards. No harm to the Earth.
3. The gift goes on. Someone else will benefit from this gift, in a way that is teaching them to “fish” instead of giving them a fish.
This is not a sales pitch so you, too, give from Heifer. I don’t own Heifer International or benefit in any way from it. Instead, I want you to find a charity that you believe in as strongly as I do Heifer. Something that is meaningful to you or your family. I’m advocating the idea of giving “no-thing” this holiday season.
I know I must sound like a Grinch, but my motivation comes from a deep desire to live with less and feel more. Give thoughtfully and from a meaningful place. That is a gift I’d dig.
Special offer for Women’s Magazine readers
E-mail me your anonymous photos of the worst or best gift ever received and/or your favorite gift to give — and why. And I’ll post these entries on my blog the week before Christmas.
For every entry, I will give you an in-home assessment and let you know how I can help with your clutter problems. Boulder County residents only.
— By Liz Canavan
Canavan, a professional organizer in Boulder, will be sitting alone at her Christmas celebration this year. To contact her or ask her advice on how to clear out your own clutter from holidays — past or present — e-mail liz@alchemyoforder.com. Check out www.alchemyoforder.blogspot.com.
