Holiday Shopping Guide, Part 2: Gifts That Support 6 Good Causes

Do your Holiday Shopping and help FEED the children of the world! Not too long ago, La Jolla Girl’s Aunt sent her a FEED 5 Bear. His name is Plumpy and boy does she love him and laugh every time anyone says “Plumpy”. He’s big and it’s funny to watch her carry him around the house. But this isn’t your average teddy bear, Plumpy has a purpose. This cute 16″ bear (hers is the same bear but it’s about 20″ tall) provides Plumpy’nut© for 5 severly malnourished children in East Africa. There is also a FEED 3 bear called “Nut” that provides Plumpy’nut© for 3 children. Plumpy’nut© is an energy dense paste that does not need to be mixed with water or refrigerated, which makes it easy to get into the field in famine situations. It’s peanut based and promotes rapid weight gain, which can mean the difference between life and death in a young child. Plain and simple, Plumpy’nut© saves lives. We intend to teach La Jolla Girl the importance of giving and if it can be done through the purchase of a toy, then so be it, even if it costs a bit more. She’s a little too young to totally grasp the concept, but she does know that Plumpy helps little boys and girls. I think this would be a great holiday gift. You can read more about the FEED Project on www.feedproject.org. Check out the FEED bags too. Plumpy is $60 and Nut is $30.

This charitable vodka, nadared, was recently brought to my attention on Twitter. I haven’t had the opportunity to drink it yet but I’ve heard it’s San Diego based and that some bars and restaurants around town are selling it with success. Their mission is to provide humanitarian aid to people in oppressive political regions. You may not totally agree with their politics, but they have an list of hospitals and orphanagesthat receive direct support from nadared without third party involvement. Take a bottle to a party or make some festive holiday drinks. Establishments in La Jolla currently serving nadared include Zenbu, Clay’s, and Nine-Ten. Buy it in La Jolla at Dick’s Liquor or La Jolla Shores Market. For a list of other stores around San Diego or to buy online click here. The price is $15.99 per bottle.

Animals Asia is one of my favorite charities and I’ll take every opportunity to mention them. Their goal is to help animals all over Asia with emphasis on rescuing Moon Bears who are farmed for their bile. Some bears live on farms in cages the size of their bodies for their entire lives, never released, with catheters siphoning out the bile. See my prior Animals Asia post where I talk about the charity and my visit to their Moon Bear Rescue Centre in Chengdu, China. Their online shop is full of stocking stuffer merchandise but if you’d like to sponsor a bear, buy a bear a pot of honey, etc. you can do that too. La Jolla Girl has this plush Moon Bear. It’s $11.

I LOVE my KitchenAid mixer and have recently learned how to make excellent home made pasta with it. KitchenAid has an entire Cook For The Cure line which includes mixers, toasters, aprons, cake pans and other accessories. Have a peek at the entire collection on www.shopkitchenaid.com. The pink stand mixer retails for $299.

I own these shoes. If you’re not familiar with TOMS Shoes, they give a pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair of TOMS shoes sold. One for one. They have new styles now that are really cute. La Jolla Girl has a pair too. In fact, some of the kids shoes are the same style as the adults so you can do mother/daughter matching. If you’re in La Jolla, you can buy these at Surf Diva. If they don’t have your size or style, they can order it for you. Remember, right now is their Friends and Family Sale. Visit www.tomsshoes.com for more details. The red TOMS are $44 and kids TOMS are $34.

My friend Birdrock Fabrications is donating 20% of holiday proceeds to the National Foundation For Autism Research. I love her La Jolla pillows but she can do custom orders too. Holiday custom orders must be received by December 1. You may visit her Etsy store here. I love this Birdrock pillow which retails at $39.99. Birdrock, for you out of towners, is an area of La Jolla.