'Tis the Season for Giving

It's that time of year again and holiday shopping is on the mind. Some people have already finished their shopping, or at least begun. I on the other hand just started thinking about what on earth I can get for everyone on my list.

First, I will begin at my church's Christmas Bazaar; hopefully I win a lot of gifts! And then I will continue on to Winners, Homesense, and Marshalls; they're all run by the same company. And a great way that they're able to entice people to shop there for Christmas is by giving employees 20% off coupons for family and friends. Luckily, I have a friend who works at Winners who gave me the coupon. I will most definitely be checking it out. For one, it may be a one stop shop as they have so many departments for everyone, and second, I just love shopping and finding cool new things there!

However, when I listen to the radio, I always hear the commercial for the Shopping Channel. One stop shop from home. Sounds great, and so easy! But I question how reliable the products are since I wouldn't be able to see and feel things in person. But golly gosh their commercial entices me to check it out!

I do know for sure that I will give my parents the gift of giving; sending animals, seeds, school supplies etc. to countries in the world that need them. My parents will get a card to let them know what they have sent over. What I love is that these are not just materialistic items being sent over, they provide the opportunity to to make money, be independent, and make a living. That's a real gift!

And just today I was told that with the World Wildlife Fund, a gift option that they have created is symbolically adopting an animal. By doing this, the proceeds support the WWF conservation efforts, and in return, the person recieving the gift gets a plush animal, adoption certificate, and details of the gift's support. I think this will be an easy gift that I can feel really good about giving to my niece and nephews; not to mention that it will help teach them to gift to others!

The favourite gifts I give are the ones that help others who need it most. For my family, we are quite privileged, so these are the best gifts for us.

Happy shopping!

live life and be happy