xmas presents - non woodwork

I don't hate christmas but I do hate how commercial it all seems to be. My mailbox is full of catalogues full of complete tat and I'm sure some people get their first credit card bill after christmas and wonder if anything they bought was really appreciated by the recipient.

So this year I'm giving my family stuff from the World Vision Smiles catalogue

http://www.worldvision.com.au/smiles/

my sisters have picked eye operations, my son and nephew chose goats and my niece is getting chickens.

you could just as easily make a charitable donation to any charity of your choice and send the recipient a card telling them what you've done.

For women who've had kids you could make a donation to the Hamlin Fistula fund (http://www.fistulatrust.org/Main/Home.html).

For kids who like cute furry animals you could make a donation to an organisation which tries to preserve habitats of orangutans ( http://orangutan.org.au/ )

Best of all if they are a charity registered in Australia and you spend more than two bucks you can get a tax refund.

I've bought some calendar blanks for 2005 ( you can get them from rabbit photos or if you're really tight make your own ) and have been amassing a collection of photos that I've taken through the year. So certain lucky (?) recipients will be getting a personalised calendar in their Christmas stocking. My son has been commissioned to take 12 photos so that he can make me a calendar. I just hope he remembers that I've got to look at each of his choices for a month!!!

what other ideas have people got for non-woodworking christmas presents that either don't cost much or that don't involve buying complete rubbish for the sake of giving someone a present.

Jackie,

Though I know where you are coming from and applaud you for getting into the true spirit of Christmas, I'm afarid that for me it wouldn't work because it would go against other peoples expectations of what Christmas is about.

What I mean to say is; I'd be happy to receive a goat or whatever as a present. The question is; would my sister, or mother inlaw or workmate or whoever feel the same way?

Just because I think that Christmas is a consumerist crock, does that mean I can impose my values on others?

I don't know the answer. I'm just posing the question.

Craig

Bah Humbug!!

If we don't impose your non-consumerist-crock views on them, will they stop imposing their consumerist-crock views on us??

Not likely!!

Keep it up Jackie

P (Who can be brave 'cos the consumerist-crock in the family is visiting one of the kids 150k's away.) (But we bought a couple of wells last year for "ourselves"...:D :D :D )

:D

Most of my friends are happy with a phone call or email, or a visit for coffee and homemade pavlova or cake. I do give one gift to an all adult family - a year's subscription to RM Williams Outback Magazine - they get a gift every two months and thoroughly enjoy it! Myself, I go buy what I need at the time, be it sandpaper, varnish or whatever - don't want for anything else.

craigb,

The only way to find out what your mother-in-law, sister etc thinks about the idea is to ask her! You may be pleasantly surprised. They may have some charity that they are particularly fond of and would like you to make a donation to them rather than making a donation to a charity of your choice. They may find buying christmas presents for the family a total chore, hate having to buy for people who are difficult to buy for and fall on you with open arms.

I suspect the older that someone is the less likely they are to be impressed by a heavily consumer christmas. I certainly don't remember getting quite as many presents as my son and my niece and nephew get.

The other christmas idea that I like is the Kris Kringle where everyone in the family puts their name into a hat and draws out someone elses name. A monetary value is set on the present. With only one person to shop for you can put a bit more time and effort into the choice of an appropriate gift.

btw is my family the only one where if you get a book for christmas you can 100% guarantee that the donor read it before they wrapped it? I've met a few people who seem appalled at the idea but it seems quite reasonable to us.

I think your suggestions are wonderful. Thank goodness there are other people out there who aren't dazzled by the lures and traps of the greedy retailers.

If someone has to use credit to buy you a Christmas present, how much pain are you inflicting on them? Chances are the gift(s) will be gratefully accepted on the day but seldom used. On the other hand, the credit card companies will be charging for every day until the amount is paid off.

Helping someone by giving them an eye operation will last forever and be far more appreciated than most other gifts.

Everyone has to make a dollar but unfortunately the large retailers give the impression that Christmas is for them to harvest huge unreasonable profits. I thought Christmas was to celebrate the the birth of a prophet!

Thanks for the suggestion Jackview.

Nah sod that, I want the presents. I've got no room for goats or chickens and the wells would probably only yield saltwater anyway. What I DO need is socks. They keep disappearing.

BTW Christmas is for kids. We don't buy presents for the adults. It would be a very cold and bleak world indeed without Santa.

agreed silentC, christmas for kids without Father Christmas visiting would be really grim. But the question is do they need as much stuff as they actually get?

I have a favourite memory of my son aged about 3 surrounded by wrapping paper and piles of gifts talking to a relative on the phone on christmas day who was asking what he got for christmas. Was it the super duper electronic toy which stuck in his memory, was it the jumbo sized set of felt tip drawing pens, was it the soft toys or the clothes ..... nope he proudly told the enquirer that he'd got a tangerine wrapped in silver foil.

The fact is that a significant proportion of the expensive toys and games that our kids get at christmas will be played with once or twice ( or sometimes NEVER ) and will end up either as landfill or in the op shop. They frequently get more play value from the boxes than from the contents.

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Originally Posted by silentC

BTW Christmas is for kids. We don't buy presents for the adults. It would be a very cold and bleak world indeed without Santa.

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I couldn't agree more Silent for kids but for adults I feel it is a rip off unless the gift is from someone who knows what they are buying. An example of this is my SWMBO buying me a good plane but for my sisters to feel obliged to buy me an expensive present is silly and wasteful.

They have no idea about what I need or could use. I would far prefer to receive the receipt for one of Jackview's ideas rather than a car cleaning kit or something equally as useless.

The wife and I don't give each other presents.

We usually buy small gifts for the rellos. Basically so that there is something to unwrap.

All the "kids" in our families are adults now.

Some people go absolutely berko over Christmas. I don't get it myself. :confused:



Craig

We agreed years ago (my sisters and I) that we would only buy for the kids. We each buy something for our respective spouses and we usually offer a list of what the kids would like. My wife does the shopping on EBay, so most of what they get is second hand.

I agree though that a lot of what is bought is probably played with once and discarded. Every now and then you hit on something that goes on to be their favourite toy but there's no way of anticipating which one it will be. What they don't play with or they have out-grown gets handed down to friends' kids or to the Mobile Toy library that goes around to the rural towns where parents can't afford toys. I guess some of it ends up in the landfill.

I suppose the message we want to be teaching our kids is to value things they are given, and the only way to do that is to limit the amount they get and try not to buy them crap. It's a bit hard to do without offending anyone when you have an extended family buying them things.

We donate a fair bit to charities every year. It feels good to give something and expect nothing in return, which is what Christmas is supposed to be about. I don't think my kids would understand the gesture yet but it's probably not a bad thing to do when they're a bit older.

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Originally Posted by craigb

Basically so that there is something to unwrap.

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Craig,

you have given me ideas how to get rid on the the offcuts :D :D

I love giving presents, there isn't much to compare to the feeling you get when you see the joy on someones face when they receive your gift.
This supposes you know the person well enough to know what will give them that joy, and you care enough to bother doing it. It doesn't have to be big or expensive but it should show you were willing to invest the time and effort to think about it.
One of the best we received was a home made voucher for baby sitting services :)

To me seeing that joy (especially in kids) is what the gift giving is about, wether or not it has anything to do with christmas is another story.