It's nearly Christmas and I've bought my fair share of presents, but there are other, more important ways to give during the festive season, for a happier, kinder world. Here are some of them.
Give money to charity.
This is the effort free option to give at Christmas, (if you have some spare cash that is!). So many charities have websites that make it super easy to donate. In general my personal favourite eco friendly charities are Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace and I like the Dr Hadwen Trust who fund non-animal medical research.
If you're concerned about what's happening in the world right now then here are some more causes to spare some pennies for,
Planned parenthood (in light of the not so pro-choice business going on in America thanks to Trump and Pence).
For charities helping Aleppo check out these lists, from
The Independent and
Huffpost, and if you want to know why you should donate to help people in Aleppo
watch this (warning it's very distressing).
So many elderly people are alone at Christmas, donate to
Age UK, who provide lots of services for elderly people.
Your local wildlife refuge will be busy this winter looking after lots of hedgehogs and other beasties, I'm sure they'd appreciate a donation. My local wildlife rescue is
Cuan House and they do great work.
Give kindness.
Simple things like offering to help someone with a buggy up the stairs, holding the door or making way for the person using a wheelchair can brighten someone's day and make a little difference.
Donate your belongings.
There's an idea of a reverse advent calendar going round at the moment, put an item to donate to a charity shop or food bank into a box every day during advent then donate it at the end. Or you can go the old fashioned route and go through your wardrobe and discard anything that doesn't bring you joy! I've taken several bags to my favourite local charity shop (it raises money for the day centre my Grandparent's used), I even gave them the bag of 'good stuff' I was saving to E-bay, because lets face it they've been hanging round for 6 months and I'm never going to get round to it!
Buy second hand.
Pick up decorations or Christmas party frocks from charity shops or Ebay, it saves you money and reuses resources.
Give to food or toy banks.
In my area there are collections for both food and toy banks, by the local council and charities. There are food bank collection bins in loads of supermarkets, so it's super easy to pick up a tin of soup to pop in while you're doing your shopping. I don't tend to buy toys for the toy bank (too plasticy, my neices are getting nice cotton kitty-cat socks for Christmas this year!) and gifts need to be new, but I have a couple of new craft books I've never, ever read that I plan to donate. The toy bank caters for young adults as well as little ones, and they're often short of gifts to give them, so it's a perfect opportunity to regift those brand new drawing books, plus some new ones, to a better home.
Shop local this Christmas.
Try to buy some presents or Christmas food supplies from your local market or shops. Spending within your local economy means more money stays in your area and gets reinvested in more local jobs and services, and it makes your local business owners happy.
Give Compliments.
So far I've told the lady in the wool shop I love her window display (knitted 12 days of Christmas), several library customers I like their Christmas jumpers and one of my Rainbow guides that she has good dance moves. I plan on giving at least 10 random compliments before Christmas comes. You can do this really easily on social media too. Just scroll through your Instagram or Facebook feed and spread the love to your online friends.
What will you be giving this Christmas?
