A pile of poo and a goat – festive gifts that help others

I’m not even going to say the ‘C’ word yet but I know that many of you are already planning – and buying – your seasonal gifts. In fact, I’m heading out to the high street tomorrow to gather some stocking fillers myself so I know that (if you’re at all like me) you’re already making a shopping list. And possibly checking it twice. Which is why I wanted to jump in feet first today with an idea for what to get ‘the person who has everything’.

My answer is; nothing. I’m not being rude, but what I tend to find these days is that everyone gets whatever they want for themselves all year round, so they don’t really need anything in particular. On top of this, we’ve all got limited space in our homes. I know how sad it makes me to receive a big generous gift when I don’t have anywhere to put it. I’m not ungrateful, I love the present, but I have like, literally nowhere to keep it. I have to store so many things ‘for later’ because I just don’t have the room at the moment.

So my solution is a simple one; buy something for someone else instead. I’m talking about charity gifts and, as a volunteer Oxfam blogger, I wanted to share details of their festive packages in case you’re already looking for a secret santa present for someone who already has plenty of everything. There are lots of Oxfam charity gift ideas on the website (starting at just £5) but I’m just going to mention my top two today – a pile of poo and a goat.

Imagine giving someone a pile of poo for Christmas – it would be the talk of the office as a secret santa gift, wouldn’t it?! I love the tongue-in-cheek nature of the gift, but it’s a whole lot more helpful than the name makes out. The gift is a 100% natural mix of manure and organic fertilizer so that someone can grow their own vegetables and feed their family. It also includes training on how to plant crops so that they are more successful in growing food. This means that the family will have a more varied diet, their health will improve with regular meals and they can sell any excess produce to raise money for other things, such as sending their children to school. Amazing what a pile of poo can do, isn’t it?

And now on to my favourite gift of all – a goat. Well, wouldn’t you want to own a goat? Okay, maybe that’s one of those gifts that you wouldn’t have room for in your flat, but in other countries a goat can be a true lifeline. The goat produces milk, which can also be made into cheese, and the family are given training so that they can turn their goat produce into a business and sell any excess. It’s a two-in-one gift really, because the goat also produces piles of poo, which makes a great fertilizer! And when the goat has kids, these can be given to other families in need or can be sold to raise money for other essentials such as building materials. Bonus!

Of course, as someone who volunteers for Oxfam all year and contributes DIY projects to their blog (here’s my author profile on the Oxfam fashion blog if you’re interested..!) I’m going to be ever so slightly more in favour of this charity over others, but you can shop around and choose the right gift for the person you’re buying for. What do you think of charity gifts? Will you be treating your friends to a £9 ‘pile of poo’ this year? Let me know in the comments below and please share any other ideas you have for the person ‘who has everything’.