As we look to the holidays, I find that there are always some people I don’t know what to get.  And I want to help meet real needs, as opposed to just giving gifts to friends and family.  (Don’t get me wrong; blessing friends and family is a good thing!  But people still need to eat.)  I don’t really like just making donations in someone’s name as a gift, though, because I like for there to be something tangible to wrap and unwrap.

That’s where things like World Vision’s gift catalog are a great tool!  You can shop the gift catalog for a goat or a flock of chickens, a share in a well, etc. and provide these things to families in other nations.  World Vision will send a card, if you like, for you to present as a gift to the loved one in whose honor you made the purchase.

Alternatively, you can make a donation to the Maximum Impact Fund and receive free gifts as wonderful holiday gifts to wrap.  This is my favorite way to double-gift: to “purchase” something that helps fund a ministry and provides a tangible, wrappable gift.  When the tangible item is something manufactured through a family business or project that helps encourage fair trade, that’s even better!

Gifts like these can be “purchased” through the World Vision gift catalog, by making donations of varying amounts to the Maximum Impact Fund.  Rahel (isn’t she beautiful?!) may be obtained with a $125 donation.

The coffee set – fair trade coffee in a decorative cloth bag, with a hand-carved scoop – may be sent with a donation of $50.  The scoop is made to benefit Kamban orphans; the fabric bag is hand-sewn by women local to the coffee plantations in Kenya.  It smells fantastic!  (Well, actually, I hate the smell of coffee.  But it’s quite fragrant, so it will smell fantastic to those of you who like coffee. 😉 )

These ornaments, handmade in Nairobi, are made from reclaimed materials.  They keep items out of the trash, and enable the artisans to earn a living.  For a donation of $150, you can obtain a set of three.  (The third, a cross, is not pictured.)  These are really lovely.  Although they are designed, I think, to hang on a Christmas tree, they would be beautiful hung from suction cups in a window.

There are, of course, other items to choose from.  One of my personal favorites is the turquoise jewelry from Thailand ($40-100, depending on which piece/pieces you choose).

Do you have a favorite?

Disclosure: I received the ornaments and coffee set pictured to facilitate this review.  As always, all opinions expressed are purely my own.