For a Charitable Christmas….purchases which help others!!
December is a very busy time for all shoppers: it can be stressful going from one shopping center to the next, trying to find the perfect holiday gifts for your family and friends.
You’ve thought of so many ideas to wrap up and put under the tree, and each one has its own special reason to make it unique to the person who will receive it.
Some of us go straight for clothing and fashion accessories, all the better if they are hot and seductive, specially if they are for your own partner, or high-tech devices that make us think we can touch the future with our own hands, or, even better, delicious culinary whims to cosset every gourmet!!
Very often, what we really lack is simply the time: traffic-jams in downtown streets to reach that very shopping center, supermarket checkouts clogged with overflowing carts full of treats and delicacies that make your mouth water…and then, the preparations for Christmas dinner, the decorations to make our homes warm and inviting, the lights on the Christmas tree still to switch on and our children’s letter to Santa Claus to double check for heartfelt wishes that mustn’t be forgotten…and in all this chaos, where is the true Christmas spirit? What about the serenity and harmony that should ideally characterize our life in general, but particularly these festive days?
According to various reports published in magazines and newspapers by experts in this field during these hard times of economic crisis, holiday periods of frenzy and ill-considered purchases are beneficial to the general economy, signalling slight symptoms of recovery from a catastrophic situation. On the other hand, don’t you think that, in this mad race towards the final purchases, we are in danger of becoming more and more cynical, definitively losing the true meaning of Christmas?
Who among us, wouldn’t like to find, a glamorous accessory with which to update her own wardrobe under her own Christmas tree; perhaps a pair of sculpture shoes to amaze guests at that party you’ve planned, or a prestigious coat to vanquish the cold and brighten your look, or a fancy dress to look like a celebrity? Everyone’s dream!! And what about that bag, maybe in exotic leather, elegant and refined, to which we already lost our heart looking at it over and over again displayed at the window shop of our favorite Boutique?
What prevents us from making crazy purchases, beyond what our pockets can afford? Perhaps our sense of shame and guilt! However, at Christmas, given the success of previous seasons, the most important maisons and fashion houses aim to overcome the horror of a society too dedicated to consumerism, encouraging us to become more generous and to consider other people’s needs, so that our purchases contribute to the most humanitarian causes: what better opportunity is there to satisfy one of our whims, especially a designer one, that not only allows us to be prettier, but also better in soul?
There are numerous initiatives offering a wide range of items to choose from to help needy people, and that take action to support humanitarian projects in developing countries: bags, scarves, soaps and shoes can be a useful gift to wrap up under the tree, but they will certainly give even more appreciated help towards those who are less fortunate.
So, here is how concretely, the most important fashion houses have decided to contribute, starting with Bulgari which, after the success past years, has supported the “Save the Children” association, while Gucci, together with Missoni, are organizing parties and charity events to support UNICEF.
For Haiti, every year Hermès creates a scarf whose sales revenue goes to the French Foundation for the earthquake victims in Haiti.
Not to forget Africa, Louis Vuitton has designed a bag with the Edun brand, created by U2 singer, Bono Vox and his wife, whose revenues will be donated to the Technoserve project in Africa.
Against AIDS, Emporio Armani has focused on health, creating a number of items bearing the famous red symbol, to raise funds for the fight against AIDS.
What about you? Where have you decided to direct your choice? Whatever your decision is, don’t forget that, of course, the first aim of each gift is….to make others happy. And what’s more beautiful than the feeling of having donated a bit of joy and happiness to those in need? Perhaps our contribution is still very little but, as we say…it’s the thought that counts, and that’s what really matters: to give a thought to others less fortunate than us once at least this season.
This is the true Christmas spirit that we all love!!
