Holiday gift ideas mega-post

Note: I know that not everyone celebrates a holiday in December, or is into gift-giving, or has the time/money/energy to buy/make gifts. If you’re not looking for gift ideas for whatever reason, feel free to skip over this post.

But if you are looking for gift ideas, read on! I’ve got everything from charities to DIY ideas to pencil holders made out of floppy disks, TARDIS lunchboxes, and pizza pi cutters.

One of my favorite holiday past-times: finding things that say “Joy” and cutting off the J.

Charities

Donating to charity in someone’s name is always a good idea if 1.) they really care about a particular issue, 2.) they already have all the material things they want, or 3.) you just don’t know what else to give them.

Here are a few that I like. You can find more on this list of top-rated charities.

Kiva is especially cool, because it’s not a traditional charity–it’s a microlending site. You make a loan of $25 to an entrepreneur from the developing world, and almost always get back the entire loan. Which means, if you give a Kiva loan as a gift, the recipient first gets to help entrepreneur pull themselves out of poverty, and then later gets money, which they can either cash out or invest again. It’s pretty awesome.

–Doctors Without Borders
–Girls Write Now
–Grameen Foundation
–Habitat for Humanity
–Heifter International
–Modest Needs
–Nature Conservancy
–Oxfam
–Seeds of Peace
–Sierra Club
–Survival International
–This Star Won’t Go Out Foundation
–Water.org
–WriteGirl

This cupcake was actually not very tasty, but it was cute!

Holiday Gift Ideas List

I made this list on Amazon, with a bunch of things that I thought might make good presents–from Lego-shaped soaps to geeky music to knitted platypi.  There’s even a Dr. Horrible onesie for your tiny friends.

I’ve listed items from $1.70 to $72, and the majority are $20 or under. There’s plenty of pink and sparkly stuff, since that’s what I gravitate toward, but I’ve tried to include items that would appeal to people with different tastes and interests.

I’ve also made a separate list of fat-positive gift ideas for the rad fatties in your life!

A few unrelated things: pink pants, a skull tiara, and pocket change

1.) You know what would be cool? These pink jeggings with zippers sewn onto them. And possibly some extra fabric (black? zebra print? black lace?) inserted into the lower legs to make them flare out. *hatches diabolical pants-punkifying plot*

2.) Gala Darling’s post on getting gorgeous at the party supply store (which brings back memories of the days when I got half my accessories at party stores…and a few at pet stores) led me to Party City’s tiara section, where I found this Monster High Skullette Tiara. I don’t even know what Monster High is, but it’s super-cute.

3.) This morning I read an article in the Metro (great journalism? No. Free? Yes.) about a charity project at BU. They collect pocket change from students in a mailbox, and donate it monthly to different charities. It’s a cool idea, and I’m glad to see that change-collecting still works in the age of credit cards and online shopping. So, huzzah for BU!