A spin on tradition

Racking your brain trying to come up with the perfect gift for parents, wedding party, or even just birthdays? Why not make a donation in the recipient's name. So many of us get caught up in the materialistic side of things, like having tangible favors (that will be tossed out if they ever even make it home with your guests.)

There are couples who decide to make donations instead. If they both believe in a common cause, they write a check to that organization, then announce to their friends and family what they've done, in the name of everyone else.

But isn't that a bit altruistic? Doesn't that really say that the couple didn't want to spend money on their favorite cause AND their guests, so decided to lump it all together? Wouldn't it be more charitable for a couple to tell guests to make donations in their name, instead of bringing a traditional gift? This would work especially well for those couples who are older, have furnished homes and don't need the starter-home type of gift.

For those who are still interested in making a difference in the world, there is still a way to do so without seeming quite so selfish. Instead of sending one lump sum to your chosen philanthropy, why not do a little more research and make the donations more personal?

For your animal-loving mother, you could make a donation to the SPCA. For the music loving cousin, a donation to ASCAP. While each organization wouldn't stand to inherit $1000, it would be more meaningful to each guest that you took the time to think about what truly mattered to them, and acted on it. Then it would totally unselfish, and thoughtful to boot!

If that seems like a nice idea, but realistically would be too much work for your fete of 500 closest friends, why not pick 3 or 4 charities, then go through your guest list and decide which of them each person would most likely identify with.

Having a hard time deciding how to name all the tables at the reception? Why not make a different donation for each table? Then your table card could have a picture of someone (or something) who has been impacted by the donation, as well as a brief history of the group you donated to.

This would work especially well for smaller parties, as thank you gifts. Even if Uncle Ned was the only one who would appreciate a donation to the preservation of blue-footed boobies, and even if that donation would up only being $10, every little bit helps, right?