A Challenge

A Challenge:
Spend little or no money this Christmas.
Create NO debt.
Be intentional and invest yourself into creating personal gifts.

I heard a true story the other day on the radio of a family that was given a gift of a goat ($75). They used the milk to make cheese to sell and the goats waste on their humble vegetable garden to increase its crop. They sold the extra veggies. The story went on with how this goat increased this family’s quality of life.

I’ve heard about this type of giving for a few years. Wow. Even a couple of chickens ($25) can give children a way to earn money for an education. I have wanted to contribute to families in this way. It’s so doable with mega results. I wanted to give an animal for each of my daughters and grandones. The boys would love to be part of a family’s story like this.

It's also possible to help a community to dig their only well for deep, fresh water. There are many different areas to help in, including Hope for Sexually Exploited Girls @ $35.

THIS IS ONE OF THE FEW ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE TRUSTWORTHY AND VERY LITTLE GOES TO OVERHEAD.  IT GOES EXACTLY WHERE YOU WANT IT TO GO...TO HELP PEOPLE MAKE A LIVING FOR THEIR FAMILY.

Compassion: Releasing Children from Poverty

World Vision

My life has since changed so drastically that I am unable to participate with family or able to afford gifts. Helping others have become more important than before and if I get the chance, my gift purchasing will be helping a family help themselves. I'd give it in the names of loved ones.


A related subject…

Every Christmas since I’ve been an adult, I’ve made a lot of things for presents. I've sewn old fashioned night gowns for my girls like my mom made us. I've made matching jammie bottoms for every family member. One year I painted sweat shirt for each dad of hand-drawn pictures from their children. I've made unusual flavored popcorn for popcorn lovers. I've cross-stitched and framed pieces and painted family Christmas table cloth pieces. My sister Kathy could probably remember more. She has a better memory than I.

I love making personal gifts. I find it easier than thinking of the perfect gift to buy. I also like receiving handmade gifts thoughtfully chosen.

In this economy, I look at it as a time to encourage others to get back to simplicity and heartfelt, meaningful lifestyles. Instead of buying gifts, give the blessing of acts of service as a gift. You can print out coupons for things like:

~3 hours of free babysitting
+A homemade meal
~An evening playing cards or board game
+A week of doing laundry
~An afternoon of helping in the garden
+A batch of their favorite homemade cookies

Even if a person has the financial resources to shop til they drop, why do it? What you save can buy a family a chance at life above starvation.

If you don’t want to put together a personal gift, then seriously consider buying a handmade one from a local artist. If you want to downsize and have a more personal touch, there are many creative ways to put an inexpensive gift together.

I have some ideas that would work for even the most insecure ‘crafter’ to put together with very little money. One of my grandboys loved the idea of planting something he could watch grow. Therefore, an idea would be to buy a nice pot, a small bag of potting soil and a package of seeds. You can divide the soil into small freezer weight zipper bags for several different people.

Try to remember an interest or passing comment a person has made that you can individualize something special for them. I have a friend, Cathy K., that is amazing at doing this.

I've seen people make from scratch, a long shelf life food gift. They mix the dry ingredients together for a cake, cookies and even beans soup. They put the mix in something like a glass canning jar with a rubber sealed lid. It'd have a nice ribbon and the recipe tied to it for the receiver to easily finish for a tasty treat.

If you have no history of making a gifts, you can take a one-time class, or a series of them. Classes are at craft stores or online.

~Knit a scarf with the investment of one ball of yarn and a set of needles. A yarn store may even have a free beginner’s class.
~String some NICE beads for a bracelet. A privately owned bead store usually is happy to help you design it and give you instructions.
~Sew a bib or tasteful apron. Quilt stores are great for ideas on inexpensive and simple gifts.

Are you getting some ideas of your own? Please share them with other readers and myself.

If you do purchase, support small businesses and artists. There are many local galleries, art gift shops, and museums with handmade, reasonably priced treasures.

Be intentional this year in spending little and making Christmas personal. Bless and be blessed!

Help Others To Help Others

I received my copy of Quilting Arts and immediately looked for my very first ad I've placed. There it was. It turned out nicely in print. I questioned if it would pay for itself. Regardless, I want to present an opportunity for those that purchase custom thermofax screens from me so as to help others to help others.

What is a thermofax and how can the screens be used? Welsh is a great resource. If you have more questions, please feel free to email me.

With people loosing jobs or getting their wages cut, it's time everyone step up to the plate to help one another. What has happened to us, including myself? We have slowly eroded into autopilot. Are we more pleasure seeking machines than caring humans? Let me tell you a story that helped me see how simple it can be to help and care for others.

We received over 12 inches of snow overnight. Since I don't work outside my home, yet, I didn't think anything beyond it's beauty. That afternoon I passed my large front window and saw the neighbor shoveling his snow, then the other neighbor, oh, all three were out removing snow from their drive. Then I noticed my drive had been cleared. I felt blessed and humbled. I live in a new neighborhood and we four have lived here a year or less, the newest moving in a few months ago. It was he who cleared my drive. Later I brought him and his family my homemade spaghetti sauce and all the fixings for a complete meal. "That's what neighbors are for." he says.

Earlier in the afternoon, another neighbor came over for a visit. It's so nice to have neighbors, friendly, and even more so having common interests. Mary is a creative woman and a doll. So she's beading and I'm quilting while we visit. I asked, "Did you hear about the 95 year old man who froze?" "Yes, I did. And yes, the electric company is partly to blame but my question is, ‘Where were his neighbors?" Wow, I had never thought of that. "Surely they knew he lived there and should have been checking in on him." She was right. I haven't lived where people did that. People used to do that, care for those around them. In this economic time, may it bring us back to paying with cash and being kind and helpful to those lives around us, beginning with me.

All this to lead to my offer. For those purchasing from my custom thermofax service, I will give a 10% discount on each order (shipping excluded) if the person pledges to give that 10% to an organization that helps those in need. A need can be for food, clothing, shelter, or education to overcome their plight. I will also be giving 10%. Make a note on the order form that I’ll email you that you want to help others to help others. If you are interested, I will compile a list of organizations I whole heartedly trust to use the donations wisely without it being eaten up in their organizational overhead.

In the meantime, bless someone just because you can.

God Bless and happy creating.