A friend shared the Christmas card they sent to family this year. I asked if I could share with you all, names edited out of course. Anyway, I think they struck a good balance of being gracious but also standing firm that they don't want to keep participating in consumerism.
Dear ______,
For 34 years we've celebrated Christmas in pretty much the same fashion: a Christmas tree, hot chocolate, and a pile of presents. We're going to try something different this year. We'll probably do some of the usual things, but this year we plan to not give or receive Christmas gifts, but instead invest our resources to provide life essentials such as food and water to people around the world.
We donate at least one box a month to our local resale shop. These boxes are regularly filled with a variety of clothes, toys, books, housewares and so on that seem to multiply under our feet. We figure if less comes in to our home then less has to go out.
We're not saying gifts are bad. After all, the wise men brought valuable gifts to the baby Jesus. But somewhere along the way it seems that gift giving has gotten out of control in America. Everybody bemoans the fact that stores have Halloween decorations in August and Christmas decorations on November 1, but it seems like we don't actually do anything about it. Well, we're ready to try something different this year.
Perhaps the most surprising part of this experiment has been the reaction of the kids as we explained our ideas. Instead of being disappointed they aren't getting toys this Christmas they're excited about helping other children who have very real needs. [K---] in particular is excited about providing basic necessities such as food, water and medicine to children in other countries.
So this Christmas remember that somebody somewhere in the world will be receiving a goat, a chicken, or clean drinking water in your honor. And please honor our little experiment by not buying our family any Christmas gifts this year. If you still feel compelled to spend money, please consider putting your resources where they're really needed. We've included a "gift catalog"* to give you some ideas of needs around the world. I bet these people would love to receive a Christmas gift from you.
Love,
A--- and C---
*We included a paper version of this with each letter:
<http://www.simusa.org/giftcatalog/>
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