Bring back that giving feeling
If you're one of the few who doesn't think that Christmas is about spending more than you have, eating and drinking more than is good for you and giving too many presents that no one wants, check out these ideas.
Charity credit cards
Do the maximum good with your present-buying - buy them with a charity credit card that gives money away whenever you spend.
Help stop the degradation of our planet’s environment by helping the WWF in their mission, with a WWF MBNA Europe Bank card made from an environmentally friendly PVC-free plastic. With this the typical rate is 15.9%APR, with 0% on balance transfers for 12 months, with MBNA also contributing for every card purchase you make. And there's also the Halifax NSPCC charity credit card that gives 0% on purchases and balance transfers for 6 months, with an APR of 16.9%. Halifax will give £20 to NSPCC when you make your first purchase on the card, and 0.25% of what you spend thereafter.
Ethical presents
Ethical presents are the new thing to give. Forget the expensive toys, hardware, and electrical gifts. Get down to earth with some of Oxfam's Unwrapped presents that help people overcome poverty and suffering. You can choose gifts by price, category, or for that special someone. Presents range from two textbooks to help children learn for £8, to over £50 to build a safe haven for women. There are fun ethical gifts for every loved one: - You could give your mum "working wonder-women". For £25 give women the chance to help themselves by learning how to start, market and manage their own small businesses.
- "Build a bog" is perfect for your brother. £50 gives the tools, training and labour to build a clean, hygenic toilet.
- Give your co-worker a hint with an "essential hygiene kit". For £25 these kits and training help prevent the spread of diseases.
You get a gift card and a fridge magnet. Gifts that keep giving Go to Present Aid for gifts that keep giving to those in need. Run by development charity Christian Aid, which works in nearly 50 countries around the world, the online store allows you to help those in need get clean water, food, healthcare and education, and earn a living. The charity also helps people prepare for and respond to disasters and emergencies; and campaigns against the causes of poverty and injustice. - For £15 a can of worms can help a Bolivian farmer fertilise their fields and produce better crops. This surplus can give them extra cash to pay for education, shelter and medicines.
- For the busy bee in your life, spend £21 to give poor farmers everything they need to make honey - training, hives and equipment, so even if their crop fails, they have an alternative source of income.
- What about a herd of goats for just £60? In Bangladesh farmers can use the milk to drink and sell, and the droppings as fertiliser to grow crops and feed families.
Gifts in action ActionAid has a few different ideas to the previous two charities. - From a patch of earth, grow health and happiness for families in Guatemala for £29 with a community garden.
- Fund two goats for £14 for a poor household. Their milk feeds the family and the remainder is sold. When kids are born, some are kept to grow the herd.Others are sold so the family can buy tools and seeds.
- Sponsor a child - it's a gift that keeps on giving throughout the year. Just 50p a day to ActionAid can transform a child’s life and give a child in poverty the opportunity to receive the education, clean water and health care they urgently need.
Help African farmers
Buy two gifts in one this Christmas and bring Africa to your living room! Give a gift to help Africa and send your loved one a personalised film or photo gift pack showing their FARM-Africa present in action.
Gifts on offer range from simple seed starter kits (£5) and gallant goats (£30), to virtual village vet starter kits (£48) and even superb shallow wells (£806). Letter from Santa campaign Take part in the NPCC and ChildLine’s Letter from Santa campaign and help the charity answer more lonely and desperate children calling on 0800 1111 this Christmas. For each Letter from Santa, ChildLine asks for a minimum donation of just £5 and every penny raised will help ChildLine answer more calls from children in need of help.
For a minimum donation of just £5, a child in your life will receive a very special personalised letter. Parents, grandparents, families and friends who support Letter from Santa will help ChildLine make a real difference to the lives of children in danger or distress all over the UK this Christmas. To receive a Letter from Santa for a child you know, you can order online at ChildLine or call 0870 325 9012. Alternatively fill in a special postcard available in branches of SPAR and Thorntons.
Give your child a gorilla for Christmas...
It is a sad fact that humans are likely to cause the extinction of a quarter of all known species in the next 20 years, unless we work together to protect them now.
The Aspinall Foundation works in conjunction with Howletts and Port Lympne Wild Animal Parks to protect rare and endangered animals, and return them to protected areas in the wild.
By adopting an animal today you will be giving endangered species a chance of survival for the future. From just £3 per month you will be helping to protect, feed, keep healthy and enriched through play, the animals in care in Kent and around the world.
In return you will be sent a wallpaper, fact sheet, certificate for your chosen animal, a monthly e-newsletter, FREE entry to one of our parks in Kent, and you will also receive updates on your animal! Or how about a dolphin? By adopting a dolphin you can help the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society protect these beautiful creatures all over the world. You can go to the site which has a selection of dolphins who live in the Moray Firth in Scotland. The survival of these animals is in danger and adopting a dolphin for just £4 a month will help with their protection. Each dolphin has a name and description, and you will receive: - An interactive DVD/CD Rom featuring stunning dolphin footage, lots of fascinating facts about whales and dolphins and extras such as games and a screensaver;
- A fluffy dolphin with name badge;
- A picture of your dolphin;
- A personalised adoption certificate;
- An introduction to the Adopt a Dolphin programme and the dolphins of the Moray Firth;
- and a colour brochure welcoming you to WDCS and telling you all about the life saving work that your support will help us achieve.
When adopting a dolphin you will also be updated with: a monthly email with fantastic pictures and news on your dolphin and the other dolphins in the Moray Firth. Adults will receive newsletters and magazines every three months, including updates on your dolphin. And under 14's will receive the junior magazine, Pod News, four times a year including updates on your dolphin. Go crazy and adopt lions, and tigers and bears
Help safeguard the future of a species from as little as £2.50 a month by adopting an animal with WWF. Adoption packs include: - A gorgeous soft toy of your animal;
- A fact booklet about your adopted species;
- A print of your adopted animal;
- A greetings card;
- Tips on a 'greener' lifestyle; and
- Updates on your species in our 4-monthly newsletter, Insight
Or become a member with WWF to help them conserve endangered species, protect threatened habitats and address global threats by funding long term solutions that benefit people and nature. In return for your membership, you will receive: - Membership handbook
- Membership card
- Guide to green living
- WWF Action magazine – 3 issues every year
- to read how your support is helping.
Be domestic and help cats and dogs
The PDSA cares for over 300,000 pet patients - cats and dogs with conditions like diabetes, heart disease, asthma and arthritis. Poorly pets cannot be cured, but they can be given happy and healthy lives. Sponsor a pet for just £10 a month.
Pet sponsorship is a very special relationship between you and the pet you have chosen to help. When you sign up as a sponsor you will receive a Welcome Pack that will contain: - A personalised letter thanking you for your support;
- An introduction to the pet you have chosen to sponsor;
- A leaflet explaining why poorly pets need sponsors like you;
- A photograph of your chosen pet; and
- A personalised certificate, acknowledging your sponsorship.
After that you will be sent regular updates on your pet as well as Pet Times, PDSA's newsletter for supporters. Give the planet a gift Perfect for the animal or nature lover, you can save an acre of rainforest with the World Land Trust. For £50 you can save an acre, or £25 to save half an acre, of rainforest in Ecador. Or tropical rainforest in Brazil, or elephant habitat in India. Not only is saving an acre a great and unusual gift for friends or loved ones, but your donation will also help safeguard some of the most threatened animals and plants on the planet – so you will literally be giving a gift to the world. Your gift recipient will receive a personalised gift certificate showing their "ownership" of an acre of wildlife habitat. Choose your presents wisely
Amnesty International has a large shop, and you can choose whether you want gifts that are eco-friendly, educational, fair trade, organic or recycled. Their gifts range from £5 with exotic pieces from all over the world.
Get a lavender thermal pillow to keep warm and relax yourself to sleep for just £12.95, turquoise earrings made in India for £9.50 or a funky year planner packed with international issues for £8.95. Railway Children Apart from Christmas cards, Railway Children, who support street children living alone and at risk on the streets all over the world, has come up with various other cheap gift ideas. Support one out of 15,000 children and spread the good word this Christmas season. - Steam trains calendar / The Art of Steam calendar 2008 - £4.25/ £6.99
- Candle/Mug – carries the Railway Children logo and message - £5 each.
- Mini greenhouse – herb and cottage green - £4.99
Useful contacts Want to know more?
- See our article on charitable giving for more ideas.
- Would you be impressed with an ethical gift, or would you rather get something wrapped in posh paper and tied with ribbon? Discuss charity gifts on the messageboards.
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