So, today was the first real day that I noticed we’re getting into the holiday season. Christmas decor is out on the shelves now. The music is playing on the intercom. The smells of pine and peppermint are permeating my nostrils. I love Christmas! Rob will tell you that I often burst into “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” all year round. I’m excited I can break out the Bing and have peppermint and cinnamon and pine smells around and think about which stockings I’ll hang on my chimney.

As much as I love Christmas, I am not looking forward to shopping. I don’t know what to get anyone this year, and I am really tempted to just do something charitable and buy a goat for an African village from Heifer International or something like that. So, don’t be diappointed if I adopt you an animal instead of getting you anything that takes up space in your house.

Seriously, just think how good you’d feel if a kid had some goat milk to keep him healthy. You can also give gifts like a knitting basket, a flock of chicks, or an alpaca (although alpacas weird me out). All of the above can be ordered from Heifer International.

Or if you’d rather save an endangered species, you can choose to adopt a polar bear, gorilla, vampire bat, or three-toed sloth (plus many others) through the World Wildlife Fund. They have different packages where depending on your level of adoption, you get a certificate, a plush, and/or a photo. Although, if you choose to go this route, do me a favor. Don’t adopt the woodpecker. I don’t know how these things are endangered. I have a couple in the woods by my house and I often find them eating my house.

If you want to go the traditional route and make a gift list, I’d like to suggest a site called TheThingsIWant. You can basically make shopping and wishlists there, but instead of being confined to one store, you can make your wishlist from items all over the web. You just sign up for an account and put a link in your bookmarks bar. Then when you find something you want, click the bookmark that says “Add to TheThingsIWant” and it gives you a popup to put any notes in before you save the item. You can see my (very paltry right now) list here.