Seeds of Change has a lot of gift giving ideas for the gardener in your life. Consider giving a gift certificate or other item from the Seeds of Change store.
Be sure you know where your purchased gifts are made. Keep this in mind:
Toys for the World (tune of Joy to the World)
Toys for the world are made by kids… and not by elves at all!
We work them night and day, for very little pay,
And little tiny hands…..make all your fav’rite brands
That fill up the shelves in every shopping mall!
Toys for the world that Santa brings……So your sweet kids can play!
What’s underneath your tree….Is our economy.
And all those girls and boys…..Who make you’re children’s toys
Are not getting squat from us on Christmas Day!
Are not getting squat from us on Christmas Day!
We just told you How To Green Your Gifts, and rest assured that our upcoming Gift Guide will rock your holidays. You’re also likely to find a gem or two among the comprehensive, wholesome tips from our friends at The Center For a New American Dream. We’ve referenced the Baltimore-based nonprofit when talking about local eating, getting rid of junk mail, and tween shopping. When it comes to the holidays, they really outdo themselves, with everything from a “Simplify the Holidays” booklet, to “Gift of Time” cards, to alternative gift resources. The E-cards are a little cheesy, and the kids/family focus might not cater to everyone, but you’ve got to hand it to a group that so successfully redefines abundance! ::Center for a New American Dream
Eco Street has put out A Green Christmas Guide. I’ll be adding this to my Gift Giving Guide, along with other updated items I discover.
Here are items in this guide:
Yesterday I posted a piece on Buy Nothing Day and consumerism.
Some family members have communicated to us that they do not want the traditional gifts this year at Christmas and have made this request.
Consider making a donation to Food for the Poor instead of buying a material gift. We have so much and there are many in Latin America and the Caribbean who have nothing. Food for the Poor has a 96% fundraising efficiency rate, with less than 4% of donations going towards administrative costs.
I will be updating my Café à la Green page to promote alternative ideas for gift giving this season.
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Tagged Activism, buy nothing day, consumerism, environment, gift giving, green, holidays, peace
I have had quite a nice hiatus from my regular schedule since December 23, 2005. During my vacation I was able to:
– visit with my family.
– learn via self-teaching a new crochet technique called “tunisian” or “afghan” crochet.
– reorganize my house.
– reorganize some aspects of my blog.
– relax.
I report back to work today in my position of teaching adolescents in a variety of classes (music, yearbook, special ed, service learning). I go back with renewed energy and enthusiasm. I’m looking forward to working with our theater director on our spring musical and other exciting projects for the spring.
This just in:
The Peace Company has peace gifts in every price range. Here are some features:
As this year draws to a close and our thoughts turn to the holidays and time with friends and family, we ask you to help make the spirit of peace the way we live – everyday. By planting seeds of peace within your heart and sharing them with others, we truly can help make peace more pervasive in our societies.
The Peace Company’s mission is to help make peace the way we all relate to the world. We offer merchandise and educational opportunites to enable anyone to walk the path of peace. Please help spread peaceful possibilities by sharing gifts of peace this holiday.
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Tagged Activism, buy nothing day, environmnet, gift giving, green, holidays, peace
I have updated my gift giving page and reorganized it so it isn’t so daunting. Check out
Café à la Green: Socially Responsible and Environmentally Friendly Holiday Gift Ideas.
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Tagged Activism, buy nothing day, environmnet, gift giving, green, holidays, peace
Jen’s Green Journal has an excellent list and review of places to obtain socially responsible, environmentally friendly gifts for the holidays and other occasions. I have had her link on my Green Cafe Gift Giving Ideas page, but I wanted to highlight Jenni’s in a separate post here.
Jenni offers personal reviews of items she has personally looked into and recommends, something I don’t necessarily have the time to do. So for a more in depth look at gifts you can purchase, visit Jenni’s gift ideas list.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Activism, buy nothing day, environmnet, gift giving, green, holidays, peace
I wanted to do something special and unique for my family this year for Christmas. This past summer I took as many digital photos as I could of my mom’s photo albums of all our family members – from my grandmother on up and all around. I am taking those photos and making calendars with photos of family members – on the months of their birthdays and anniversaries and also collages, etc. on the other pages.
Fortunately I have one of those machine-thingys with which you can put calendars together with the plastic spiral spines.
One challenge is fitting in photos on months with multiple birthdays – There are 3 birthdays and 1 anniversary in October, for example!
Here are some photos of me that I took from my mom’s albums:
Deanna Dee-Dee Taylor 