An email from my sister, another upper-middle class liberal arts grad, so maybe we don't represent the common man. Unedited, uncut, unsolicited, my sister and I are barely on speaking terms. She will vote for Hillary or Obama, I will vote for Rudy, and so forth, but here it is.
>>Hi, folks! I hope you had a peaceful Thanksgiving holiday.
A lot of folks are kinda freaked out by all the recalls of unsafe/contaminated
toys and other things from China. It seems like everything in the stores
is made in China these days, and there's a new, frightening recall every
other week.
In searching for gift ideas this holiday season, I came across this
Made In USA website. Put "toys" in the search box on the right and it
will give you a list of U.S. companies that sell toys made in the U.S.A.
madeinusa.com
Another good idea I read yesterday was to give "services" rather
than just "things" at Christmas (e.g. a facial, "tickets" to the local pool,
language or music lessons, etc.) For children it might be a "coupon" worth
one kid's matinee plus lunch "date", a trip to the zoo, or some other
special outing or adventure, some new books with a promise to
read them yourself to the child, their first library card, etc.
(Handcrafted items given with love are always great, too. But with
only a few weeks till Christmas, that might be a better plan for
next year? Ooops!)
I'd love to hear your ideas on this issue, too. As there are five "fresh"
little ones in my family, and another eight among my closest friends,
I'd rather not be giving lead or who knows what to them this Chistmas!
Love, |
