New Year's Eve

     Make a number of envelopes with "Emergency Midnight Kisses" written on the front and put in a few Hershey's kisses inside. Scatter these around town or the shindig you are at and bring a smile to many faces as you ring in the New Year.

Terrific for Terra

    If you are anything like me, this is the time of year you suddenly realize you don't have enough flutes and glasses to properly toast in the New Year. Why add to the already burgeoning mounds of recycling or, God forbid, landfill? The cool company Refresh Glass (refreshglass.com) creates pretty and eco-efficient drinking glasses from rescued wine bottles. Cheers!

Have a Gratitude Circle

     Instead of just another holiday party, have friends over and state what you are grateful for in the world and about each other. Take note!

Reach Out

     The holidays can be an intensely lonely time. I remember when I first arrived in San Francisco and really had nowhere to go. Kindly folks invited me to Thanksgiving and Christmas, and I made new friends, ate marvelous dinners, and was so grateful. I try to do the same now that I have a home I can share. Look around and see whom you can invite over. This is a lovely tradition among my group of friends and is, I truly believe, what the holidays are really supposed to be about.

Re-Gifting 101

 

  Now that you and your family have celebrated, eaten to your heart's content, and opened presents, ask if everyone likes your gifts and if they will use them. If there is something that doesn't fit or isn't useful, donate it. I remember when people were shocked that FLOTUS Nancy Reagan re-gifted but I think was just ahead of the curve!

    If your heart and wallet have different ideas about making monetary donations, it is time to summon your inner re-gifter. An unwanted gift could be a welcome donation to a charitable organization. For help selecting a charitable organization, visit the Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance at give.org. You can also contact the government office responsible for registering charities in your state. A little research upfront will make sure your donation is put to good use. If the process of selecting a charity seems daunting, remember that you benefit from giving as well.

    Involving your children in the selection of a charity teaches valuable lessons. You have the opportunity to make a difference. Some charitable gifts are tax-deductible if made to a qualified organization. But be sure your organization meets IRS guidelines, as there may be different tax breaks when you donate certain assets to charity.

Share the Love

    The Holidays can be a difficult time for many people who don't have family nearby, a home to sleep in, of food to eat. A great way to be a good in the world is to volunteer a few hours of your time to work in a soup kitchen and help serve those who are in need of a hot meal. You can also use this time to get your family involved and impart good moral values on your children. For many years running, I have volunteered at Glide Memorial Church in downtown San Francisco and enjoyed each and every minute of it. I bet your community has a place like Glide that can be your happy place. Make other people happy and feel your own special joy. If you find yourself in the San Francisco Bay Area around Thanksgiving or Christmas, check out glide.org/serveameal, then come on down and we'll have fun together serving up some love.

    The Volunteer Resource Program at Glide works with about 10,000 volunteers each year, totally 65,000 hours of service. The Glide Meals Program is a transformative experience. This program requires 85 volunteers each day to fill the breakfast, prep, lunch and dinner shifts, all 365 days a year. With your help they can serve up to 2,400 meals per day to the Glide community. Volunteers assist with everything from serving food, to bussing tables, to handing out silverware and condiments. Be prepared to roll up your sleeves, and make some beautiful connections!

Christmas Eve

  

    As your family arrives- or as you arrive at your family's- to celebrate Christmas, greet everyone with a genuine smile and embrace. Leave any past disagreements at the door and see good in everyone. You love these people and they love you. Bond over happy memories and the amazing dinner spread on the table.

Happy Hanukkah!

    The Jewish Festival of Lights begins this time of year and has a marvelous tradition of giving, known as tzedakah. When translated into English, tzedakah means charity-giving to those in need. Derived from the Hebrew word tzade-dalet-qof, meaning righteous or fair, this practice of giving is both a generous act and a just one in the Jewish religion. In Jewish literature, the sages have said that this performance of duty is equal to all other commandments combined. Tzedakah is what grants us forgiveness for our sins.

    Certain kinds of tzedakah are considered to be of greater merit than others. Maimonides organized the different tzedakah into a hierarchical list. From the least to the most meritorious, they are:

Giving begrudgingly

Giving less than you should, but giving cheerfully

Giving after being asked

Giving before being asked

Giving when you are unaware of the recipient's identity, but the recipient is aware of yours

Giving when you are aware of the recipient's identity, yet you remain anonymous

Giving when neither party is aware of the other's identity

Enabling the recipient to become self reliant

Think Globally

   

    Start a conversation with someone of a different culture, religion, or political view, while actively listening and responding. Becoming aware of someone else's standpoints and personal journeys may enlighten how you think.

    Nowadays, people of different vantage points need to realize that we may worship differently, but we are people all the same. Be accepting and show it. This time of year, so many different cultures celebrate the turn of the year in ways unique to their traditions. Why not find out more about these festivities and even attend some? It's a small world, after all, right?

Make Time to Make Memories

 

    Tis the season to... spend more time with those you love! Instead of sequestering yourselves in separate rooms watching television, playing video games, or growing the Internet, call all family members into the same room and do something together. Play a board game, watch a movie, have everyone contribute to making dinner, then roast marshmallows in the fireplace. Or maybe chestnuts. Ho ho!

If Something Really Worries You, Do Something About It

   

    Millions of tons of plastic waste litter the world’s oceans, converging together in rotating currents called gyres and blanketing the water’s surface. On average, these gyres now hold six times more plastic than plankton by dry weight. Fortunately, 19-year-old Boyan Slat, founder and president of the Ocean Cleanup (theoceancleanup.com), wanted to invent “a method to clean up almost half of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in just 10 years, using currents.” The youthful environmentalist and entrepreneur presented this revolutionary idea at a TEDx Talk in the Netherlands and was recently named one of Intel’s 20 Most Promising Young Entrepreneurs Worldwide.

The Red Cross Can Use More than Your Blood!

    For some people, health, time, and logistical restraints mean donating blood isn't possible. But blood donation isn't the only way to support organizations like the Red Cross. Along with financial donations, the Red Cross also accepts airline miles and credit card rewards. Easily transferable from your computer, these sorts of donations don't cost you anything but can still make a difference.

Host a Holiday Potluck

     

    Since you might not get to see your close friends much in the next few days to family gatherings, shopping for gifts, and getting over colds, invite them over for a holiday potluck. Spending time with friends is a great pick-me-up and now is a good time to show your gratitude for the people in your life. To make it even more fun, choose a theme for your party, such as tacky Christmas sweaters.

Actions Really Are Louder than Words

    Pay attention to the body language of others around you. If you notice someone with droopy posture or a frown, offer assistance if they need it. That someone could be having a bad day, and one person noticing could make a big difference.

Sign Up to Be Santa's Helper

    Go to your local Post Office around Christmastime and pick one of the letters to Santa that they get every year. Buy and send the gift to the child who asked for it so the gift arrives before December 25.

Love Your Local Public Library

     

    Libraries are just as much a community hub as any coffee house or breakfast joint. Your patronage will make a difference! Nowadays, libraries host events, offer free classes, and are a place we can go for some nice quiet time with a book or a magazine. To me, they are as holy as shrines.

Be a Hospice Volunteer

 

    Jollyologist Allen Klein shares this beautiful story:

    When I was a hospice volunteer, one of the patients I was assigned to look after was an elderly woman who loved classical music. For many years, she, her son, and her daughter had season symphony tickets. But she was way too ill to use them now. Her prognosis was only a few weeks left to live.

    I discussed the situation with the hospice team and how we might get her to a concert. Perhaps we could put her in a wheelchair or even a gurney and have her at the back of the theatre, But in her condition, we realized that that would not work.

    Then I had an idea. I called the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, one of the leading schools in the country, and asked if they had a student who might volunteer to play something for a dying woman. A few days later, they sent over a talented young woman, a violinists, who gave a private performance for the patient and her family.

    I wasn't at the apartment at the time, but from what the daughter told me the next day, it was glorious. She said that after the intimate living room recital, her mother told her, "In all my years of going to the symphony, that was the best concert I have ever attended."

Ring Your Bells

    Ring bells and help raise money for people in need. The Red Kettle Christmas Campaign enables the Salvation Army to provide food, toys, and clothing to over six million people during the Christmas season and helps more than 34 million Americans recovering from all kinds of personal disasters nationwide. The Red Kettle campaign, first started in San Francisco in 1891, has traditionally been the Salvation Army’s most prominent fundraiser. For more information and to find out where you can volunteer, go to ringbells.org.

Make Merry

    

    Santa Claus came early to a Pennsylvania retailer recently. In December 2014, an anonymous man walked into a store and told the manager he wanted to donate $50,000 to help pay off customer layaway accounts. “We made him say it twice,” said store manager Steve Meyers. “When we started telling customers, they thought it might be a joke.” 

    The donor, who asked to be known as Santa B., arrived just in time, as unfulfilled layaway orders were set to be cancelled that day. “He just wanted to bring Christmas cheer to everyone,” Meyers said. “He was in and out, kind of like Santa Claus.”

Save the Planet, One Tree at a Time

     

    Buy an artificial Christmas tree. People love my blue and silver disco tree which I got at a yard sale a few years ago. It is very festive! On average, over 30 million Christmas trees are sold in the United States each year- those are trees we could be saving and using for oxygen, housing material, and paper products rather than as decoration for a small amount of time. When you purchase an artificial tree, you will save money within the first few years and they look just as nice without the mess of pine needles! For more information on the history of the Christmas tree, go to urbanext.illinois.edu/trees/facts.cfm.

Human Rights Day

    

    Today presents an opportunity to celebrate human rights and advocate for equal human rights everywhere. As much as we like to think that the world is all sunshine and rainbows, that is not the truth; we should not be blind or ignorant of the truth. Today, make yourself aware of the injustices going on in the world by doing some research on the prejudices and hate that many people experience from others. Do what you can to help promote human rights today and everyday.

    To keep up on all the latest, check out hrw.org. 

Support Diversity in Education

    New York-based Folk Arts Rajasthan (folkartajasthan.org) and India-based Lok Kala Sagar (LKSS)-meaning "local folk arts society"- are nonprofit organizations joined since 2005 by a shared vision of a thriving and just future for the Merasi people and their unique musical culture. The Merasi of northwestern India carry a powerful legacy of 38 generations but they also carry the burden of the still-enduring caste system. To reclaim an identity as storyteller, the Merasi of Jaisalmer have shed the derogatory caste label Manganiyar, meaning beggars. The name Merasi, instead means musicians, and is a symbol of self-determination.

    The FAR-LKSS collaborative approach recognizes that education, preserving this intangible cultural heritage, and achieving social justice for a continually marginalized people are mutually dependent goals.

    In the face of obstinate hierarchical norms, FAR and LKSS are together nurturing a generation of ambitious and capable youth with their programs. Significantly, two FAR scholarship girls, Sitara and Mobeena Khan, participated in a 2014 US-based international science conference, after their project won awards both local and state level in Rajasthan. In February 2015, a troupe of Merasi youth traveled to Mumbai to play in the prestigious Kala Ghoda Arts Festival and exchange cultural activities with students at a variety of schools.

cultural heritage, and achieving social justice for a continually marginalized people are mutually

dependent goals.

In the face of obstinate hierarchical norms, FAR and LKSS are together nurturing a

generation

of ambitious and capable youth with their programs. Significantly, two FAR scholarship girls,

Sitara and Mobeena Khan, participated in a 2014 US

-

based international science conference,

after their project won awards at both local and state leve

l in Rajasthan. In February 2015, a

troupe of Merasi youth traveled to Mumbai to play in the prestigious Kala Ghoda Arts Festival

and exchange cultural activities with students at a variety of schools.

Charity Rocks!

     When Jaime Finkel, assistant to music manager Scott Rodger, began working at Maverick in Beverly Hills, she noticed there was a lot of unclaimed "merch" in the office. The newly-founded company, which is composed of nine of music's top managers- who collectively manage more than two dozen of the planet's biggest artists, including Madonna, Paul McCartney, Miley Cyrus, Pharrell Williams, Alicia Keys, Arcade Fire, and U2- is at the forefront of major changes taking place in the music industry today.

    Instead of throwing away the excess and unwanted tour products and unsolicited gifts, Jaime initiated a Merch Box. Every month, she selects an organization to donate these items to. It seems like a natural match since for every celebrity and wanna-be star in Hollywood there is a person in need, but no one had thought to do this before. It's as simple as setting up a bin in your office lunchroom and creating a sign that reads "For Charity."