A friend posted on facebook the other day about her dilemma between trying to live simply and also trying to support the local small businesses in this economy. It is an interesting dilemma. If nobody spends any money then the economy gets worse and less people have jobs and the economy gets worse and the third world gets poorer and on and on. Yes, I realize this is a simplistic version of reality.
My take on it is to not give up buying or giving entirely. Make a Christmas budget. Give the first portion to organizations that feed, clothe and take care of people's medical needs. Then, because we have to spend some money, buy intentionally. Meaning, don't just go out to the local Stuffmart and blow your budget in the dollar aisle (though it is SO tempting). Here is my take:
- Buy supplies and make gifts.
- Buy handmade or gifts that support a cause. (that's right, go ahead and click through each of those links and do a bit of Christmas shopping) I guess you could also throw local shops in here as well. After that,
- Support Amazon.com. Okay, that's a bit of a joke, kind of.
I've read some good stuff about christmas shopping lately.
Jude at Pajamas are Clothes gets on her soapbox. It's a great soapbox.
Donald Miller's Amazon wish list is one of the funniest things I've read recently. Please read it.
And, completely unrelated to Christmas, have you read Katie Davis' latest post? Challenging, for sure. I'm not sure I entirely agree with her but maybe I should.
What do you think? What is your take on how and where we should buy gifts for Christmas?
