Buying Gifts that Save the Day for the Red Cross

I love my family and buying them presents for the holidays. But I hate buying things that end up thrown onto a bookshelf or into a closet, like the many well-intentioned gifts that are now scattered like so many misfit toys around my parents’ house. So I’m really pumped about the Red Cross holiday gift catalog! This is the perfect year to give meaningful presents, and I’ve vowed to do most of my shopping online. In fact, I’m going to do shop the catalog as I write this post. Here goes:

The online catalog is PRETTY! I peruse the options and decide to pick a gift from each category. Here’s what I’m choosing:

Dad: I’ll leave it to Mom to buy him socks. I select a set of three blankets in his honor. Those blankets will wrap up a scared, cold person who’s living through a disaster and needs some rest and comfort. Dad’s snuggly, it’s a good fit.

Mom: Instead of buying mom more tschotskes (those little trinkets that adorn every corner of the house), I picked a phone card for our troops in her honor. Mom appreciates the importance of chatting with family, and now a man or woman who’s serving our country will be able to call home for the holidays.

Brother: He’s a trendy guy, but he appreciates practical people. I gave $25 in his honor to vaccinate kids against Measles. That was a pretty powerful and humbling click of the mouse—I hope he appreciates it!


At the end, they gave me the option to send an e-card that will be delivered whenever I want (I chose Christmas). The Red Cross will also send me cards I can personalize and hand to my family as their presents. That was fast, easy and super gratifying. So are you up for giving the gift that saves the day? Do you think your family would like this? Check out all the ways you can help at www.chicagoredcross.org/holiday.