Mom Took the Pledge

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Hey It’s Jet Here.

Mom participated in only ONE Black Friday experience yesterday.  She visited Pet Supermarket @ 8:45 a.m. to take advantage of their special on cat litter.  There you have it.  She took care of some other errands on her way home and then worked on the computer all day.

Mom read so many emails today (over 400) that she forgot to save the site the following list came from.  (And you wondered why she didn’t transcribe my responses to your generous comments over the last few days!)

One of the emails asked humans to take the pledge to celebrate the holiday season a little differently offering the following alternatives: (I’m taking the liberty to express my thoughts along the way.)

  • GIVE THE GIFT OF TIME by creating your own gift card for a service (e.g., babysitting, carwashing, petsitting, chores, making dinner, organizing an outing). Hey Mom… you could give us gift certificates of time to visit different dog parks!
  • GIVE A HANDMADE GIFT like a memoir of cherished memories with that person, a book of family recipes, a collage of pictures and mementos, or a calendar filled with the birthdays and anniversaries of friends and family. Hey Mom… you could make us handmade treats!
  • OFFER TO TEACH A SKILL YOU POSSESS (e.g., knitting, photography, computer skills, financial planning, a foreign language, music lessons, canning tomatoes, cooking a favorite recipe). Hey Mom… you could teach us to swim in the bay!
  • CONSIDER LESS GIMMICKY, LESS COMMERCIAL GIFTS for children, such as arts/crafts supplies, books, a magnifying glass, or building blocks. Hey Mom… building block toys would work for us, or… we could make ripped paper art together!
  • CREATE A PAPERLESS HOLIDAY LETTER on the computer and email it to friends and family. Hey Mom… you could tell us holiday stories about  Mugs *OTRB*, Koko *OTRB* and Fluffy *OTRB*!
  • HAVE A WHITE ELEPHANT PARTY at the office instead of a traditional gift exchange, where each person brings a wrapped secondhand item in good condition. Hey Mom… we’ll bring you used shoes (more on this Monday) and you can bring us second hand toys!
  • DRAW NAMES IN YOUR FAMILY FOR GIFT-GIVING (for extra fun and surprise, make it “Secret Santas”), so that you can put more time and thought into one gift instead of having to give to several people.  Hey Mom… we could draw names and you can help us with the gifting process, right?
  • SHOP FOR USED ITEMS for all or most of your holiday gifts (e.g., local thrift store, Craigslist, Freecycle, used products on Amazon or eBay).  Hey Mom… I hear garage sales sell stuffies really cheap.  Who cares if they only last a few minutes?
  • SHARE THE GIFT OF MUSIC by caroling, and include visits to elderly neighbors or a nursing home. Or, gather friends and family for an in-home holiday sing-a-long.  Hey Mom… music helps distract us during boom/streaky lights season!
  • GIVE BACK TO YOUR COMMUNITY by preparing care packages for the homeless, or volunteering at an organization to help those in need during the holiday season.  Hey Mom… we’ll visit humans and make them happy!  (here’s the link for that picture… too cute!)
  • ADOPT A “LESS IS MORE” ATTITUDE toward holiday decorating. Opt for natural trimmings such as clippings from local evergreens and holly bushes.  Hey Mom… I think we have this one down already!!!
  • SAVE PAPER by wrapping gifts in newspaper comics, junk mail, paper bags decorated with markers, old maps, phone books, or other reused paper. Hey Mom… we’re not picky with how our presents arrive!
  • PREPARE YOUR HOLIDAY MEALS with as many seasonal, locally grown, and/or organic foods as possible.  Hey Mom… you got this one!
  • REDUCE JUNK MAIL by removing your name from mailing lists of unwanted holiday catalogs.   Hey Mom… you get most of your pet catalogues online now, right?

Another great holiday plan day.

Thanks to Life With Dogs, Confessions of the Plume and Two Little Cavaliers for hosting the Saturday Blog Hop. 

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51 thoughts on “Mom Took the Pledge”

    • Hey Luna, Hey Penny, Jet here. Hi Miss Elizabeth.

      That’s what Mom did at first before she thought we could share with our blogpals!!!

      We think Miss Elizabeth’s special photography would make amazing gifts from the heart. 🙂

      Reply ↓

  2. Those all sound like awesome ideas! I love white elephant parties, they are so much fun. I’m also down with the less gimmicky gift idea… I like things that you don’t see everyday.

    Reply ↓

  3. Sounds like a great pledge! Those are some great ideas there. I gave my daughter a book that I wrote all our family recipes in last year for Christmas. This year I have made her an afghan and everyone slippers! 🙂

    Reply ↓

    • Hey Fred, Hey Gloria, Jet here. Hi Miss Janet.

      Mom asked me to share how special the family recipe book idea is. When my Nana had her horrible accident 25 years ago, the family lost 2 special recipes that we thought her aunt (nana’s sister) had copies of. Wowee wow wow, Miss Janet, you knit too? 🙂 Mom’s a bit slow, so she’s a scarf lady!

      Reply ↓

  6. Your mom is very brave venturing out on Black Friday! My mom would not go to any store! I think you are in FL and I don’t think they have Aldi stores but if you ever have one, their cat litter is as good as Tidy Cat and cheaper. Mom switched over a year ago. Both she and the cats are happy! Good gift suggestions. I bake doggie Christmas cookies for our neighborhood dogs 🙂 Have a great day! Emma

    Reply ↓

    • Hey Emma, Jet here. Hi Katie.

      Mom follows the litter on sale generally… Nope, never heard of Aldi…

      Your baking is pawesome Emma, your neighborhood pals are super lucky to receive such generous gifts. 🙂

      Reply ↓

    • Hey Dakota, Hey Cody, Jet here. Hi Miss Caren.

      We thought so too! We liked the photo… Mom began collecting menorahs a while back and then stopped. She really loves the wobbly one her Aunt Harriet gave her from Israel when she was a teen. 🙂 We would love to see yours!

      Reply ↓

  11. Hi Jet…My mom didn’t do any Black Friday shopping either, except fur getting us a discount ticket to Barkworld. Today we are going to our favorite store, The Doggie Bag, that is participating in our local Shop Small Saturday. There’s a pledge here too…”This Christmas I pledge to Shop Small, Shop Local, Eat Local & Enjoy Local, and support the local businesses that support me & my community.” We’ve taken this pledge.

    Reply ↓

  13. Great ideas Jet! Jen mostly buys stuff for us for Christmas. She gave her mom a gift certificate for a massage. It helped a local business and was something her mom would enjoy!

    Reply ↓

    • Hey Rumpy, Jet here. Hi Miss Jen.

      Oh, massages are pawesome… Mom massages Little Miss Zen and I almost nightly before bed. She loves massages too, however I haven’t learned that yet at Scooby Doo Academy! Great idea.

      Glad you found the list helpful. 🙂

      Reply ↓

    • Hey Y-bo, Jet here. Hi Miss Loy.

      Mom can’t take credit, she found this list online. She likes those ideas, too. Many years ago, she ordered stationary (when humans used that stuff) made of maps headed for garbage mountain. 🙂

      Reply ↓

  18. Hey Jet,

    This list is awesome buddy!!

    My Mum often does the calendar one for family, using photos from visits we’ve had with each other and that way they get to see some of the photos each month 🙂

    Last year they also did the Secret Santa when both Mum and Dad’s family were here for Christmas – you had to re-gift something you already had and it was like a lucky dip, but you could swap gifts around when it was your turn to pick – it was SO much fun, lots of people got things they thought were cool and it didn’t cost anyone anything! 🙂

    I hope you’re having a fun day,

    Your pal Snoopy 🙂

    Reply ↓

    • Hey Snoopy, Jetty here. Hi Miss Annette.

      Wowee wow wow!! What great ideas… we especially like the Secret Santa round-about. 🙂

      Good speaking with your Mum last night… she and I had lots to catch up on! BOL!

      Reply ↓

  20. well, Mom and Dad have a head start on so much of this list…about 20 years ago…they looked at each other over their individual PILES of gifts to each other….and said “WHAT??”…and ever since then…Dad and Mom don’t ever buy gifts for each other for anything…nor do they give gifts, nor accept them, for holidays. Instead, they celebrate especially at our December holiday time, by donating the amount of money their income would allow them to spend on gifts that year…they donate usually to animal rescue, and wildlife protection, and also to battered women and abused children 501 3c organizations. Mostly, they chose small ones, sometime big ones like Calif Marine Mammal Center and Heifer Foundation. Otherwise, they chose small, localized organizations where their dollars really make a difference. Then, they only ask that the recipient organization send holiday cards to a list of about 20 family, friends to tell them that a donation has been given in their name and the organization can send along information about what they do.

    Mom and Dad asked all family members to spend on themselves OR please donate. Don’t know what they do, but Dad and Mom have way less “gifts” sent to them that they have to dust off!!

    Reply ↓

    • Hey Savvy, Big Guy Here. Hi Miss Linda.

      We knew you would think like that! Mom always took one of Rachel’s Hannukah nights and donated a garden to SEVA’s Native American project to combat diabetes and another Hannukah night she took the money she would spend on Rach and spend it on a girl the same age in our local area. She donated to my human Grandpa’s favorite charity and she and Mr. Fred barely bought gifts for each other, unless they needed something. Like the idea of smaller charities who really need the $$

      Reply ↓

  21. Pingback: Mom Took the Pledge | Hey? It's Jet Here » Time for Kids Articles | Time for Kids Articles

  22. Pingback: Follow Up Friday – The Puffster Edition | Hey… It's Jet Here

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