UPDATE! I’ve lost track of where we are but we’d Donated over $10,000 of toys in the first 24 hours & it’s been snowballing since then. My blog only shows 700 comments per page before making you click “newer comments” so here’s a sHortcut: click here for comments 700-1400, here for comments 1400-2100, here for comments 2100-2800, and here for comments after 2800.
Remember in 2010 when I gave out gift cards in the name of James Garfield (the taxidermied boar) to the first twenty people who told me they didn’t know how they were going to afford toys for their kids this year? And it was awesome until it became very apparent that there were more people who needed help, but then you guys came to the rescue and suddenly there were $40,000+ worth of donations from strangers to strangers? That was awesome. And exhausting.
Then in 2011 we worked together to sponsor Project Night Night Bags (a bag with a security blanket, a book and a stuffed animal) to 750 homeless children.
This year I say we do it all. It’s been a good year for some of us. A bad year for others. Give if you really can. Take if you really need.
You can click here if you want to donate $25 to sponsor a Project Night Night bag for a homeless child. Or click here to help end world hunger and poverty by buying the ass end of a pig as an honorarium for someone you don’t like. Because who is going to complain about getting a helpful pig ass in their honor for Christmas? No one worth going to the mall for, probably.
Or if you are struggling to buy a single present for your child then do this…make a wish-list on Amazon (SEE UPDATES BELOW) and leave a comment below (with the age of your child, a link to your wish list, and anything else you want to share). I’ve made money this year in affiliate ads because you guys have supported me here, so I’m giving back to help those who need support this year to get by. So that means that – even if you don’t have the money to donate this year – if you supported this page in any way, then the donations from me are also from you. Literally.
A few words of warning…I only have a limited amount of money so I can only help a limited amount of people. If you choose to share your wish-list then gift-givers will be able to see your name and city, but your actual shipping address is kept confidential with Amazon. Also, if you choose to be a gift-giver and pay for something on someone’s wish-list please know that I can’t verify anyone here so you have to go with your gut.
I’m in the middle of family visits, deadlines, and book edits but I’ll try to keep the comments updated as much as I can.
PS. I just bought a live sheep and a bunch of Project Night Night bags in your honor. Merry Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Festivus/GoodGravyGiving. Thank you for letting me be part of such an amazing community. You have no idea the difference you make.
PPS. If you’re looking for something wonderful and inexpensive for your child I cannot over-recommend books. Books were some of my best friends and still are, and they can take you miles away. If you need suggestions, GoodReads has a great list of 100 Children’s Books to Read in a Lifetime. Some of those books are like coming home again, and all are available for free at your local library.
PPPS. It seems only fitting to end this with the taxidermied boar who inadvertently started this whole ridiculous thing.
UPDATED: I’ve tried to buy several things on several wish lists but keep getting a message telling me that there isn’t a verified address to send the presents to, so I’m just going to assume that I’m an idiot and instead I’m sending Amazon gift cards to the email addresses as noted in the comments. Maybe someone smarter than me can tell me what I’m doing wrong. Also, if you want to leave an email address in your comment you can but I won’t share it unless you actually type it into the comment box.
UPDATED X 2: Make sure you update your amazon profile to have a confirmed shipping address set up for your account. See the comments for pointers. So far almost everyone doesn’t so people aren’t able to ship to you. Giant thanks to those who want to send me money so I can pass it on, but so much would be eaten in fees and taxes so it’s better for you to donate directly. I’m sending gift cards for now but I suspect people will fix their profiles soon to make it easier. And thank you for such an amazing response. I love you guys.
UPDATED X 3: GOT IT! Okay, the reason why we’re unable to ship to lots of you is because Amazon makes you select a shipping address for your wish list in a really complicated way. I made a graphic to show how to do it but it’s 1:30am so forgive my typos…