Holiday Gift Guide Last Day: Red Cross Giving Catalog

Caregiver training for one family ($75) can go a long way toward easing the transition of a returning service member. Photos from Red Cross Web site.

HEAD’S UP: Is it December already? YES, it is. In many parts of the world that means it is holiday gifting season. For many, the very idea presents a little conundrum. They have no idea what to gift, poor things! These are the very souls that the elves at VEVLYN’S PEN endeavor to lend a hand. We’re starting a bit early this year with our humble Holiday Gift Guide, because the spirit hit us and … well … we’re filled with the spirit! From today through 24 Dec., every day or every other day or so – willy-nilly, actually – we will introduce one or a series of products/services, items and brands that we believe would make a smashing holiday gift(s). And (as the old saying goes) … we’re off!!!

HOT Meals in February, Hot Wheels in June, warm Blankets in March and a cool place to stay in January.

These essentials are all part of the Gift of the Month ($500) package proposed by the Red Cross in its “2012 Holiday Giving Catalog” (http://www.redcross.org/gifts). As the agency goes about its business of providing disaster relief, such largesse would be, as it asserts, “constant and unforgettable.”

Physical and emotional care is the May portion of the Gift of the Month package.

People around the world recovering from typhoons, earthquakes, famine, tornadoes, war, droughts and other natural and manmade calamities would no doubt appreciate December’s Emergency Water Container. Further, appreciation would abound in the knowledge that the Bicycle on which water and the container were transported on roads impassable by vehicles was made possible, courtesy of the June allocation.

Often, bicycles are the only practical means of transportation in the aftermath of a disaster.

Because the Red Cross is never not responding to a disaster, the agency never ceases to need support in its good and necessary work. It is through generous donations from kindhearted folk that it is able to provide three Blankets ($15) and a Full Day of Emergency Shelter for four people ($200). The Vaccinations for 100 children ($100) and four Military Comfort Kits ($200) and three Phone Cards ($60) do not appear out of the ether.

The warmth and comfort of a blanket can make an awful situation just a little bit better.

As an incentive to invest in its cause through the “2012 Holiday Giving Catalog,” the Red Cross will part with a few autographed keepsakes such as a Water Bottle ($100 minimum donation) and Deluxe Emergency Radio ($1,000 minimum donation).

Indeed, the sources that make possible Reconnecting Families (1@)$150) and Physical and Emotional Care for two days ($230) are you and you and you.

Visit http://www.redcross.org/gifts to learn more about the Red Cross “2012 Holiday Giving Catalog.”