Snow and Sun settle
Upon the slumbering pines
Yuletide gleaming bright
I’m off to relax and enjoy the holidays. See you in the New Year. Cheers! 🍷
I love this post from 2016. It’s become an annual tradition here at Lemon Shark. Anyway, here it is, my friends. ❤
If you’ve got a couple (or a ton) of last-minute gifts to get, these amazing organizations let you email/text the recipient or print your own card. No waiting, just giving. Donations help those in need as well as give your loved ones a gift from the heart.
Quick, easy, heartfelt. ❤ 🎁 The perfect last-minute gifts:
Environment / Nature
ARBOR DAY FOUNDATION
Mission: “to improve water and air quality, slow climate change, and reduce poverty by planting trees.”
These Trees in Celebration certificates are lovely and every single dollar you spend plants a tree. They also offer “Give-A-Tree E-Cards” to send a holiday greeting with meaning. Because. Trees. Behold the beautiful trees! 🌲
Animals / Wildlife
ASPCA
Mission: “animals are entitled to kind and respectful treatment at the hands of humans and must be protected…”
Show your love for our four-legged friends. Give a holiday gift card in honor of a beloved furchild. I can’t stand the cuteness of that puppy. You know you want to help these little munchkins. Available in ecards.
Hunger / Poverty
HEIFER INTERNATIONAL
Mission: “to work with communities to end world hunger and poverty and to care for the Earth.”
Choose a donation and print it out, email, or text with a custom message to the gift recipient. Or you can give a gift card (to print out or send via email) so they can choose their own donation.
* My personal favorite gift to give is honeybees. They are awesome. Here are 2 reasons why:
“Food for Life: Honey is the only food that includes all the essential elements necessary to sustain life, including enzymes, vitamins, minerals and even water. Its unique chemical makeup also allows it to be preserved indefinitely.”
“Farmers’ Helpers: In the process of searching for nectar, bees pollinate plants. The placement of a single colony can potentially double local fruit and vegetable yields.”
Isn’t that incredible? It’s the bee’s knees. 🐝
KIVA
Mission: “to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty. We celebrate and support people looking to create a better future for themselves, their families and their communities.”
Print these out or email them to the gift recipient and they can start loaning right away. Change someone’s life, get paid back, help someone else… And on it goes. Making spirits bright.
Childhood Cancer/Childhood Diseases
ST. JUDE CHILDREN’S RESEARCH HOSPITAL
Mission: “Finding cures. Saving children. St. Jude is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases.”
Please do check out the site if you don’t already know about St. Jude Children’s Hospital. And, if you do, well… ‘Nuff said.
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As a little gift to you, gentle readers, my second collection of flash fiction is free for the holidays.
Enjoy these bite-sized delights between driving, eating, and unwrapping.
It’s the perfect book to bring along when you’re stuck in traffic, waiting for never-on-time Aunt Jackie, or sneaking out of the room because your cousin brought up that wedding thing. Again.
If you want a collection to dip in and out of during the holiday season, here’s your chance to grab a copy.
On the Edge of a Raindrop is FREE! You can get a copy HERE.
Also: Hinting at Shadows is still on sale for the holidays. You can get a copy for just 99c/99p HERE.
Happy Holidays! ⛄️
Here’s what some people are saying about On the Edge of a Raindrop:
Brentyn’s prose is poetic…
for those who enjoy being able to read shorter works without losing the impact of a story.
It’s amazing what can be conveyed in just a few sentences…
I read these stories slowly savoring the words and connecting to her prose much in the same way I do with poetry.
I could see a whole life in a paragraph, so insightful and artfully captured are they.
Happy reading, all! 🖤⛄️
The holidays are fun! We all feel relaxed and happy. Except for when we feel stressed out and irritable. Because, honestly, holidays can be stressful. (Just saying.)
Sometimes, around this time of year, you might want to say to hell with it all and go home to grab a bottle of Merlot and binge-watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer or whatever floats your boat.
And leading up to the holidays, after your eyes have gone buggy from shopping online or your nerves are frayed from standing in lines for six hours, you may be tempted to say to hell with it all and go home to grab a bottle of vodka and binge-watch whatever Netflix recommends.
When someone asks what you’re getting for your in-laws, parents, partner, or kids, you may just turn to them and say, “Who Gives A Crap!”
I do. And Who Gives A Crap toilet paper company does. And, now, you do. Because you’re going to gift toilet paper to all the people in your life.
It’s a wicked good idea. (No shit, right?)
Everyone uses the toilet. Everyone. On. Your. List. (Except your dog but he can totally learn.) So toilet paper is, like, the most thoughtful gift ever. It’s helpful and useful and won’t add clutter for minimalists or anyone trying to KonMari their crap.
They even have holiday gift wrapping. How cool is that?
Their mantras (of sorts). (With parentheticals from me.)
All of our products are made without trees. (Save the trees! 🌲)
Our TP helps build toilets for people who need them. (People need toilets. 🚽)
We don’t use any inks, dyes or scents. (You want color on your lips, not your arse. 💋💄)
This toilet tissue is made from recycled paper or forest-friendly bamboo so you are helping the environment. It’s dye-free and soft so you are being nice to your bum. And 50% of the proceeds are given to charity so you are giving two gifts for the price of one.
From their site: 40% of the world’s population don’t have access to a toilet…More people in the world have mobile phones than toilets.
Who gives a crap? They do. (Seriously, read this page to see what they’re doing.)
PROTECT: Environment / Nature / Animals / Wildlife
HELP: Poverty / Childhood Illnesses / Preventable Diseases
There IS NO BAD HERE.
It’s. ALL. GOOD.
Lemon Shark 