Rethinking Black Friday:A Shopping Guide

For the first time since the referral of our sweet boy, I'm going to write about something else.  {Don't worry...he's still on my mind 24 hours a day! ;)}

This week is all about giving thanks, and boy, do we have SO MUCH to be thankful for, but this post isn't about that, either. 

This post is about something else that is on many peoples' minds this week...Black Friday shopping. 

For many years {6, to be exact}, I HATED Black Friday.  In fact, as an employee at Target in Joplin, it was for me the absolute worst day of the year.  I vowed to NEVER shop on Black Friday.  And, I kept that vow for at least a couple of years.  However, I have warmed up to Black Friday and have become quite the shopper on the day after Thankgiving.  In fact, I count it a successful year when I conclude the last Friday of November with all the presents our family will give for Christmas.

This year, though, I have really begun to rethink Black Friday {and Christmas shopping in general}.  One major part of the new line of thinking is making purchases with purpose.  Have you decided the same?  If so, here are a few ideas for your Christmas shopping this year:

1. A Road Home is a blog I've been following since the beginning of our adoption journey.  Erica is doing her 12 days of Christmas again this year, which is basically 12 days of giveaways of awesome products.  I love this, of course, but what I really love is that Erica choses 12 humanitarian aid companies/organizations to spotlight for this event that she does.  Each of these companies are so inspiring and any of them would be great choices for Christmas shopping!

Also, Erica was the one who introduced me to Sseko sandals.  And, speaking of Sseko sandals...

2. Sseko sandals are a total obsession for me.  I basically have one pair of shoes I wear if it is 70+ degrees...my Ssekos!!  I love their products, but I also love their mission and it feels so amazing to advocate for them when people compliment me on my shoes {and they do, despite my imperfect feet!}.  Sseko is running an AMAZING deal for Christmas, so if someone on your list has Ssekos on their list, now's the time to snatch them up! :)

The Stocking Stuffer Package

3.  My friend, Christy Gladheim is a fellow adoptive mama who adopted a precious little boy from Ethiopia through our agency.  She is an amazing woman with a huge heart for orphans and she is a part of an organization called The Perpetual Change.  Each year they have a holiday sale with all sorts of awesome products.  All the products have been donated, so 100% of the profits go to benefit orphan care and adoption assistance programs.  Plus, they have items for every budget...definitely worth checking out! 

4. I read about Adoption Advocates International on an adoption group on facebook.  They sell amazing, authentic African items and the profit goes to advocate for hard-to-place orphans based on one or more criteria {age, location, sibling group status}.  The items are VERY reasonably priced and one cool thing you can do is donate formula to an orphanage from their site.

5. Toms are pretty popular these days and most people know about their one-for-one campaign.  I usually stay away from things that have so much hype, but I really was touched by a blog post that I read where the family had actually worked a Toms event in NorthEast Africa.  So, I'm sold and I want a pair {I'm really not the last person on the planet that doesn't own a pair, right?!}

Now to choose which ones...

So, there you have it...some ideas of ways that you can make shopping more than just a thing you do for Christmas.  You can make a difference in peoples' lives, too.  I realize this is not a comprehensive list and that some of you probably have some other ideas of how to make a difference for Christmas this year.  Please leave a comment and share your ideas with me!! :)