Paint and Pixels

Part THREE of THREE:

Stuff that Matters:

Water For Christmas

I am a strong believer in thrift shops.
I hate being advertised to- it makes me feel like I am being duped. I hate buying new things- there is a ton of perfectly good old things out there. Packaging bugs me- I know how much it costs to print something at kinkos, so when I throw away packaging, I just mentally imagine something else I could have printed for the cost of the packaging that I just threw away.
This Christmas I got permission from everyone in my family to give only second hand, homemade or otherwise incredibly thrifty gifts. Everyone is in on it, and we agreed to all keep our gift under $5 each. This way, we are not participating in the Christmas consumer frenzy which turns consumers into the consumed, all while wasting a whole lot of money for the sake of a tradition. Typically, we would have spent $10-$15 per Christmas gift.



Here are some examples of what I have found to give so far:
For Milo, my 5 year old nephew, who I am fairly certain won’t read my blog and spoil his surprise, I am giving a toy drum and a batman padded vest. For the two items combined, I spent less the $5.

I have been wanting to buy my son, Rocket, a automatic baseball pitcher for a while now- mostly because I get tired of pitching for him, and if it were up to him, he would be hitting a ball with a bat 24 hours a day. A couple months ago, I saw one on sale for $30. I seriously considered buying, considering that they normally cost around $50. But I didn’t. Last week, at the local Goodwill, I found the exact same baseball pitcher, in like-new condition for $4.99, and even has working batteries in it! I just need to buy the balls to go with it. It is now hiding in a very very secret location, waiting for Christmas morning!!!! (DON’T tell him!!!)
I can’t feature many more thrift shop Christmas gifts on my blog, because I can’t give away any of my secrets before Christmas. But, believe me, you can find some really nice quality gifts for a fraction of the price of normal stores.
By cutting the cost of gifts for Christmas in half, I’ve freed up a lot more of the budget for more important things. If you think that recipients will be put off by receiving a used item, I suggest supplementing it with a card from Water For Christmas explaining that because you didn’t aid the commercial craze of Christmas, $5 was given to provide life saving water for one person for five years. I don’t know who would want to return that gift. That comes to a total of $10 per person, and depending on how many people you are exchanging gifts with this Christmas, you could save dozens of lives of real people. Ask yourself- is the alternative really worth it?? Also, be sure to tell people that you'd rather have “water for Christmas” too.


I became aware of charity:water through Jody, who is heading up a gigantic campaign that she is calling Water For Christmas. $20 is enough money to provide one person in a third world country water for life, so in essence, $20 saves a persons life- what $20 piece of merchandise could be as valuable as that?

This is what I am asking of you:

1. Cut the cost of your Christmas giving to friends and family by atleast half, and then supplement it with a Water for Christmas card which tells how much money was given to Water for Christmas and exactly what impact that makes on real people. Click on the photo for a larger resolution version to print or message me and I will mail you printed versions ready to give. Click on the icon to the right to make your donation and to read about this incredible organization.

2. If you live in the Colorado Springs or Denver area, come to a Christmas present wrapping party hosted by me and my mom. Incase you are not aware, my mother is a professional present wrapping artist, which means that if she wraps a gift for you, it will be the most beautiful gift you’ve ever seen. Even if it weren’t supporting a worthy cause, it would be worth forking money over for! If you’re in the Springs mark your calendar for December 20th. If you are in Denver, mark your calendar for the 22nd. We hope to wrap over 200 gifts, in exchange for donations. More detailed information about this, as well as pictures of beautiful presents, to come.