Dear Amy: I know that you have been asking readers for “alternative” gift-giving suggestions this year.
One great holiday gift solution is to donate money in a person’s name. This can work for gifts for colleagues, teachers or friends.
is my favorite website, because it allows you to donate any amount of money to a specific classroom project requested by a particular teacher.
Your athletic cousin can sponsor new sports uniforms for kids, your literary sister can contribute to a class a set of Shakespeare; your boss who loves to travel can send a group of students to visit a new city on a field trip.
If you happen to fund a whole project, you get thank-you notes and photographs from the recipients — pretty amazing! — Lelac
Dear Lelac: I explored the website and love the idea of teachers submitting proposals for projects and others agreeing to fund them. This is a great way for underfunded schools to achieve some ambitious goals. It’s also a very nice way for those of us who want to support teachers and public schools but who don’t have children of school age to do so.
I check out every unfamiliar charity by doing a little research. , which assesses and ranks charities, foundations and nonprofits, gives their highest, four-star rating, which is “exceptional.” Thank you for the recommendation!
Dear Amy: I have a gift-giving dilemma that I hope you can help me with.
My four sisters and I decided to only give gifts to each other’s children at Christmas.
My only single (childless) sister lives in my state, and we both spend Christmas with my parents.
The drama began when she gave my 1-year-old son a present last Christmas and was terribly bent out of shape that she did not receive a gift from us.
She got my parents and uncle and grandmother involved, and everyone said that I was the rude one.
My defense was that if she had a child, I would have bought the child a gift.
Was I a Grinch? — Christmas Grinch
Dear Grinch: Yes, you were a Grinch, and your sister was a Grouch.
Now what? Surely you can imagine how life sometimes seems to people who don’t have children. Your sister behaved poorly, but you throwing her childlessness in her face is especially cruel.
The obvious solution is for her to give your child a gift and for your child to “give” her a gift, too. This means that you choose something appropriate, wrap it and give it to your sister on behalf of your child.
I realize that this violates your “only children get gifts at Christmas” idea but it’s thoughtful and generous — and that’s the whole point, right?
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