The 12 Days of “Sustainable” Christmas
The spirit of Christmas Giving, comes from opening your heart and lending a hand. The holiday season is a simple holiday for most, but for some it can feel foreboding. It is a time of giving, but for many families this simplicity is overshadowed by the consuming side of Christmas.
The Grinch said it best…
“And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled ’till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more. “
– Dr. Seuss
Therefore, this holiday season “Spread a Little Cheer, for All to Hear” and give back to your community and to others, share your love of the holidays. Free hug, a warm smile, a simple hand shake and hello, can go further then you think.
Taking that extra step and donating your monetary gift of hard work or spare a little time to work with those who may not be as fortunate and offer them the gift of empowerment. It gives families and communities the power to improve their own lives.
Sticking with the spirit of the holidays I have chosen to illuminate some of my own personal experiences around the holidays, as well as Vancouver’s amazing gift giving options with a favorite song, “The 12 Days of Christmas;” which was first published inEngland in 1780.
12 Days of Christmas Gift Giving …
“On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me…
Upstanding values from the family tree
On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me…
2 open arms ~ (for free hugs)
And upstanding values from the family tree
On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me…
3 “Adopt a Project” – (Vancouver Police Foundation PALs, Hope in Shadows, Portland House Society )
2 open arms
And upstanding values from the family tree
On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me…
4 Sponsored Families ~ (Presents of Peace – YWCA)
3 “Adopt a Project”
2 Open arms
And upstanding values from the family tree
On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me…
5 Golden Reasons (Compassion, respect, community, integrity, accountability)
4 Sponsored Families
3 “Adopt a Project”
2 Open arms
And upstanding values from the family tree
~~~~ (keeping with the theme of the song, but shortening the scrolling feed, here are the full list of the 12 days of Christmas)
On the 12th day of Christmas my true love gave to me…
12 months of Photos ~ (buy your 2012 Hope in Shadows Calendar today)
11 Pals-a-Paling ~ ($400 raised for the Vancouver Police Foundation and VPD PALs Program)
10 Co-ops –a Coping ~ (Vision Vancouver’s low cost housing strategy for 2015 supported)
9 (99%) Occupy local markets ~ (buy local, support fair trade consumerism)
8 Happy Jigs a Jiggin rather then rioting ~ (perform 30secs of your happy dance….mine is the Snoopy dance)
7 dwarfs –a- ELfing ~ (Operation Elf Team 2011)
6 Cows-a -Mooing ~ (sponsored herds for small enterprise and empowerment through international development agencies like CARE Canada and Free the Children)
5 Golden Reasons ~ (Compassion, respect, community, integrity, accountability)
4 Sponsored Families ~ (Presents of Peace – YWCA)
3 “Adopt a Project” ~ (Vancouver Police Foundation PALs, Hope in Shadows, Portland House Society )
2 Open arms
And upstanding values from the family tree.”
~~~~~
I hope you all enjoyed this witty banter and I wish you all a very merry and happy Christmas holiday season.