On Holiday Gifting

geekwriter143 totally rocks!  She reminded me to post about Heifer International with her latest post.  Thanks to my good friend bzdchris, I was introduced to Heifer about 7 or 8 years ago, and I find them to be the charity that makes the most sense in this day and age.  They're into sustainable farming of all sorts, and they teach the people they're gifting with livestock how to keep the gift alive, prospering and reproducing.  I guess for some things I'm not terribly imaginative, because I always think of Heifer around this time of year, but geekwriter143 says she gives the flocks for anniversaries and rabbits for weddings, and I'm like "Doh! of course you can give for other occasions!"  

So, if you don't know what to give the person that has *everything,* do them and you and the lucky recipient a favor, and pick something out of Heifer's catalog. It's totally worth it.  And for the vegetarians, they also do seedlings for reforestation, honey bees (if you're not vegan) and knitting baskets (animals that produce useable, marketable wool).  If you're in charge of getting a group gift, a whole sheep, goat or cow is well within reach.  If you're looking for a fund-raising project for your club or sorority or church, go for the ARK!  It's the equivalent of two of everything in the catalogue.  I think an ark would make an awesome gift for a 30th or 50th anniversary - really, it's not any more than a cruise would be, and if you haven't taken a cruise by your 50th anniversary, you really weren't that interested to begin with. Am I right?

On a more acquisitive note, Amazon.com has the always awesome wish list, which I mostly use as a reminder to myself of things I've thought I might like to check out.  Getting an amazon gift certificate is super cool, because then I just peruse my wish list for the more esoteric or obscure items and GO FOR IT!  This year, they intro'd Amazon Prime, which for a reasonable annual fee (~$70), they'll give you unlimited free shipping with 2nd day delivery.  I don't personally order from them enough to make the fee worth it, but in trying to lure me to the spendy side of the street, they offered me a free introductory month.  Silly Amazon, of course I'd take you up on it during the month between Thanksgiving and Xmas - it's my most online time of year!  The really cool part is that if you are a *Prime* member, you get to sign up other members of your household to partake of the free shipping.  We're milking this bad boy until 12/25!!

Another way cool gift idea is gourmet food.  Last year, I sent my sis, BIL and mom a gift of three partially cooked lobsters (FedExed).  They just popped them into boiling water for a few moments and ate them slathered with butter until they thought they'd explode.  The next day, the leftovers made a lovely mid-day salad entree.  This year, thanks to old_man_summer, I've discovered the delights of HomeBistro.com.  Sent the same family members the holiday sampler.  It's a great price for gourmet food, and the shipping was free on this one too! Go me!