A different kind of gift list

It's almost Christmas, the time of year when consumerism goes into overdrive as we all start making lists of gits to buy: for our spouse, our siblings, our children, our parents, our own personal wish list and so on. There's nothing wrong with wanting to show our appreciation by giving something special to our loved ones and our friends. It is an inherent part of our human nature to want to express our love and gratitude by giving. Even the three kings turned up at Bethlehem bearing gifts. But when most of us already have so much, gifts may become superfluous, an extravagance, even. Which brings me to the point I want to make. I am not trying to discourage you from buying gifts for loved ones but to spare a thought for people who may not be so lucky.

I think that one of the biggest tragedies of the past decade is that we have become more connected through the internet and social media but, ironically, our actual physical interastion with each other is decreasing. Everything can be done online: shopping, banking, working; and we are so engrossed with our little machines that sometimes we seem to be living in our own little bubble without a thought or care about the plight of so many others. So I am sharing a list of people we can help to cheer up during Christmas and beyond. This list is aimed at my Maltese readers but I am sure it's not difficult to find similar organisations to support in your own countries.

1. For the past few years, the Foodbank Lifeline has been organising a Reverse Advent Calendar. The food bank provides food to families in need. It is a sad but ironic fact that, in spite of the increased economic prosperity of Malta, the number of people making use of the food bank is increasing every year. The Reverse Advent Calendar works on the premise that a non-perishable food item is placed in a box every day during the run-up to Christmas. The items are then donated to the food bank. Naturally, people need to eat year round not just at Christma, so this is a cause worthy of year-round support.
2. Children's Dreams is a project whose main aim is to make the wishes of children from families facing social and financial difficulty or living in children's homes come true by donating a gift that the child would have wished for. This initiative is one of the most popular and usually 100% of the dreams are fulfilled.
3. Nahseb Fik (which means 'I think of you') was set up to help fulfill the wishes of elderly people who are lonely and face various social difficulties. 
4. My final recommendation is a very different type of gift, but no less important: a gift to our planet. I am sure you are all well aware of the amount of plastic that goes into landfills and ends up in our oceans on a daily basis. The numbers are staggering and, unfortunately, recycling isn't the solution since not all types of plastic can be recycled. Therefore I want to urge you to reduce the use of single use plastic as much as possible: refuse that straw (able bodied people really don't need straws to drink), get rid of cling-film and use wax paper instead, use soap bars instead of shower gels ... there are many little things we each can do as individuals that may not seem like much. But when millions of us make a conscious decision to try and avoid single use plastic, it will eventually make a big difference. And future generations will thank us for starting to reverse an ecological disaster that is just waiting to happen.

 I am sure there are other organisations and initiatives that we can support in our respective neck of the woods. I purposefully kept the list short so it wouldn't be overwhelming to anyone reading it. A quick search on social media or the internet will surely lead us to equally deserving organisations that help the less fortunate and others that are striving to clean up our world. 

My intention was not to preach to anyone but to try to get us all to look beyond our little bubble and at the world around us. We don't even need to look far. Sometimes it's people living under our very noses, like neighbours or co-workers who may be going through a difficult patch. So let's keep our eyes open and help in the best way we can to extend the Christmas cheer outside out immediate families.

How are your Christmas preparations going my friends? I've finished the cleaning and decorating ,am much behind on gift-buying and have done zero baking. It's not really where I want to be just 15 days before the big day but there it is. Hopefully, a visit to the Natalis Notabilis Christmas market in our neighbouring town of Rabat this weekend will provide me with ample opportunities to buy some special gifts. I'll try to do one more post before Christmas. Finger crossed.