Finished my shopping

I’m done with my Christmas shopping. Truth be told, I finished a long time ago. Because I really didn’t do any shopping at all.

Yes, I bought something for my mother. And I got a little something for my sisters. My nieces and nephews, and great nieces and nephews (at least the ones still in school) get the same thing every year: a little money in a card.

But for all my friends, and all my clients, I decided that sending gifts – or even cards – was such a waste. I’m not rich, so I can’t send expensive gifts, anyway. Rather than send hundreds of little gifts and cards, I decided to expand on what I’ve done in prior years.

There are a lot of folks out there for whom Christmas is a pretty sad time of year. Gifts are the least of their worries. (Been there, done that, got the t-shirt.) While I make contributions all year long, I generally make most of my contributions to a few chosen charities at year end. This year, instead of sending multiple checks, I sent just one: to the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia. The Foodbank says that they can provide one meal for 26 cents, which happens to be the cost to mail a postcard.

I sent postcards, to let my friends and clients know that I had made a contribution in their honor, instead of wasting it on a card that they would look at and throw away, or a gift that they would never use. Maybe next year I’ll ditch the postcards, too. A few more meals to those who are hungry is a lot more important.

So consider this your personal postcard Happy holidays, everyone!