Our own tradition

A World Wildlife Fund catalog randomly appeared in our mailbox one day, filled with a variety of precious stuffed animals which can easily be obtained by a donation. After quickly browsing through the pages while my husband and I continuously "oohhh'd" and "aahhh'd" over them all, he mentioned this could be the start of a Christmas tradition with Ruby. I previously stated I wanted to start donating to some sort of animal foundation, whether it was giving money, food, supplies, or time to the local shelter or dealing with something different, I wanted to make sure we were doing SOMETHING - and it is now obvious that my husband does listen to me since HE is the one that mentioned going this route. We have since decided we are going to donate to the WWF each year for Christmas and Ruby will get the stuffed animal representing the animal we choose to sponsor as well as an adoption certificate, color photo, and a species spotlight card. We'll keep all the certificates and paperwork in a photo album for her and she'll have the stuffed animals to play with, plus, the main reason for doing this, it will teach her about donating in a way that gives her something to look forward to. Of course, once she is older we can look into doing something along the lines of soup kitchens or Susan Komen events, but for now we can begin this as a tradition that we hope will stick with her for the rest of her life.

That, and what does a 3 month old really NEED for Christmas? I mean, the clothes are really for us, not her and we'll obviously buy her toys as time goes on. AND, it's not like she will be able to OPEN anything herself, so at least this way she has something from her first Christmas even if she won't remember it.

If you are interested in what's available, you can see it all here.