From Oxfam:

A few weeks ago, I listed some Mother’s Day gift ideas at Oxfam in a post called “Give Mom a Sheep.” Yesterday, I went on both the Oxfam America Unwrapped and the Oxfam Great Britain Unwrapped sites to order my Mother’s Day gifts. My mother-in-law lives in France, so I needed to use one of Oxfam’s European sites in order for the card to get to her for Mother’s Day.

It turns out that the European site is much cooler. They have a lot more items and the recipient gets a cool fridge magnet. They also give the option to add a small gift for a few more euros to go along with the magnet, so that the recipient gets an actual gift - like fair trade chocolate or a nice calendar.

Anyway, I had fun shopping, and I hope these mothers enjoy their gifts - I’ll keep you posted on how well they are received. I ended up getting Plant 50 Trees, Peace Books for Kids, and 21 Mango Saplings.

My favorite part about my free WordPress blog is the listing of recent search terms that people used to find me. Here’s today’s list:

Um, romance sheep? That one cracks me up.

Since I frequently talk about romance novels (see books category), and I also recently suggested that we “buy mom a sheep” for Mother’s Day, it makes sense that that combo would find my little spot on the web. The real question is what was that person looking for? Ah, life’s great questions.

What do you get for all the mothers in your life? I don’t even have a mom anymore, and I spend more money at Mother’s Day than any other holiday - except Christmas, of course. So, what do I get for all these women who buy themselves most things they really want? Well, how about a sheep?

OxFam International is a non-profit “that seeks increased worldwide public understanding that economic and social justice are crucial to sustainable development.” In other words, they work with poor people to improve life. That is of course, extrememly generalized, but you see where I’m going with this. So, for the donation of $45, your recipient will get a nice card in the mail informing them that a sheep has been purchased in their name. Here’s what OxFam America Unwrapped says about the purchase of a sheep:

No need to feel sheepish about this gift! Raising these fleecy critters allows women to create their own income. What’s more, the sheep’s wool is used to make local textiles. When you give this gift, you know it’s helping others, so there’s no need to count sheep — you’re sure to sleep well!

There are gift categories ranging from under $25 (Peace Books for Kids, $18, Irrigate a Farmer’s Land for two months, $20, etc.) to over $500 (Build a Shelter, $1000, Train a CHANGE organizer, $1500).

For my mother-in-law, I have selected Provide Gender Rights Training for Community Activists at $90. Here’s the description:

Provide support for three community members to participate in a training program that will help educate them about gender rights and equality. This program helps women to speak up in their communities and educates men about the importance of women’s roles as leaders, citizens, and breadwinners.

What mother doesn’t support that?

Happy shopping, everyone. It’s not hard to help.