12 Days of Christmas - Day 6 - Charity

I mentioned on Day 1 of the 12 Days of Christmas that I have a terrible time coming up with gift ideas. 

Finding gifts for my male coworkers is no exception!

Especially when you factor in, I make about half to a third of what they each make...and I'm a single income home.  And that there are about 10 of them buy for!  I just couldn't afford to do much.

So, the first couple years I did smaller things.

Like one year I ordered a Kona coffee sampler for each of them....directly from Hawaii!  I didn't pick these up at TJ Maxx folks.  I had them shipped in! 

I figured since I lived there for 6 years and that was the one thing I knew they all did was drink coffee...great idea!  Right?

WRONG!  Only one person thanked me...and he told me he had to mix them with regular coffee because he didn't like too much flavor.

FAIL!!!

They always do a nice gift card from all of them or a spa gift certificate.  So, I always wanted to do something small for each of them. 

So, this one year (keep in mind, when money was SUPER tight) I got Christmas buckets from Wal-Mart for like a $1.  I filled the buckets with movie theater goodies....microwave popcorn, big boxes of candy, etc.  And I got each of them a $5 Blockbuster Gift Card.  I put a tag on each bucket that said something cheesy like "I hope you sit back, relax and enjoy a movie with your family this holiday."

Each of these ended up costing me about $10! 

Image Courtesy of The Polka Dot Chair

All I got was, "Just what I need...more candy and food."

FAIL!!!

I've done a couple other "FAILS" as well that I don't even remember.  So, then I started baking and just decorating brown paper sacks and filling them with home baked cookies. 

But again, I got the "Just what I need" comments. 

Picture courtesy of Sweet Additions

So, last year I decided I wasn't wasting any more of my hard earned money on unappreciative people!!!

(I don't know if you remember this from a previous post...common courtesy is REALLY big to me.)

SO....I figured there were SOME people in this world that would appreciate the money I typically spent on office gifts!!

I have a very special spot in my heart for the homeless.

I guess because I feel most of us are only a generous relative willing to take us in and a paycheck or two away from being homeless ourselves.

So, I started giving my money to the local homeless shelter.  The one where I see the men waiting outside, on my drive home sometimes, for the doors to open so they can get out of the cold and the snow.

Last year I had Doodle make cards for everyone and inside I put this poem (which I wrote...I'm obviously no poet, LOL):

I hope your holiday season is wonderful and bright!

Instead of thinking and thinking with all my might

Instead of heading straight off to the mall

Fighting the crowds, to find the perfect present for all

I decided that we each have everything we need

And that we’d find more joy in being able to feed

The hungry, the lonely, the homeless, the cold

And probably quite a few of the old

So, this year instead of gifts, to the homeless is where we’ll give

As a way to thank God for His blessings and the beautiful life we’re able to live!

Merry Christmas ~ Erin

This year in lieu of gifts, Jessica and I have made a donation to the Wheeler Mission.

No big surprise, no one said a word.

But this time I didn't mind! :)

That's my plan again for this year!  But I suppose I'll have to create a new poem.  Hmmmm..... :)

Until tomorrow....