Rainy Day Presents her Annual Christmas Gift List, in no
particular order:
1. For the person on your list who has everything he or she
needs, be K.I.N.D,
buy a desk for a kid in Malawi. The money not only buys desks, but it provides jobs for the men who build the
desks so they can feed their families. These kids want to learn, and sitting at
a desk instead of on a dirt floor, makes learning a lot more enjoyable, and
easy.
2.
Or buy some living
gifts through Heifer International
http://www.heifer.org/
to give families a way to provide for themselves and or their villages.
3. Do you belong to a
group of folks, and want to give each of them a little something? Donate a desk
in all their names. Or a Goat or Water Buffalo. Or a box of age-appropriate
books to your local Toys for Tots and the Literacy Program.
3. Buy books! Lots of books. Buy books for the children on
your list regardless of their age, for the adults on your list no matter what
their age is, and for your local library. Buy from local authors, if you can.
4. Make gifts. Don't
do this as a way to save money, because it usually ends up costing more than if
you buy it, but the love and time that goes into each gift means more to the
recipient.
Oh, and may Rainy Day recommend just a few books? All except
Ken Rand are local to Washington State. All of these books are available from Amazon.com as well as other places. Rainy Day has highlighted reviews, not necessarily purchase information.
Mattie by M. Ann Rohrer (Biography of Ann's Grandmother)
Breaking the Code: A Father's Secret, A Daughter's Journey, and the
Question That Changed Everything by Karen Fisher
-Alaniz
Paralysis by Jeff D. Copeland (Adult, Thriller)
POD by Steve Wallenfels (Young Adult, Science Fiction)
Peculiars by Maureen McQuerry (Young Adult, Steampunk)
Whatever you buy or make for the people you love, have fun doing it. The Joy, truly, is in the Giving.
