Dear Aimee,
Every year I struggle with finding something special and meaningful to give to my loved ones for Christmas, but I always end up giving scarves, gloves, or socks. Any ideas for fun and unique gifts?
Struggling Santa – Elk City, Oklahoma
Dear Reader,
Christmas can have a severe split personality disorder can’t it? There are those of us that hold it dear as a spiritual season to reflect and be thankful for the coming of Jesus Christ, and then there are those that simply celebrate the day as a secular holiday. Most of us have family traditions that embrace both. We focus on the origin of Christmas as the birth of our Savior, and we also participate in the fun and whimsical traditions of Santa Claus and reindeer. Then there are families out there that stringently adhere to only one side or the other. Either refusing to acknowledge the secular Christmas ideals for the sake of the religious, or refraining from saying, “Merry Christmas!” for fear of sounding the least bit Biblical. Christmas to my family is a special and reverent spiritual affair, but we do enjoy the fun traditions of good old St. Nick as well. It is a struggle though to create an atmosphere that honors the true spirit of Christmas, while at the same time allowing our families to have the joy of experiencing everything the holiday has to offer. I have come up with a partial solution this year, inspired by a birthday gift I received from my sister-in-law. She gave me a fabulous pair of pajama pants from a company called Punjammies. This pajama store is a product of the International Princess Project. They have started a sewing company that employs and gives help to women and girls coming out of the sex trade industry in India. I did a little research about their corporation and it truly is inspiring. So dear reader, my advice is to do a little Googling and find a few companies that are either directly associated with a charity, or maybe they give a portion of their Christmas proceeds to a needy cause. Then print up a little card explaining the gift behind the gift, and enclose it with the charming scarf, gloves, socks, or pajamas. I can attest to the fact that there is something special in my Punjammies. They are now my favorite choice of lounge wear. Not just because they were a gift from a sweet sister-in-law. Not only because they are made of beautiful comfy fabrics. Not even because I simply love to lounge in style. No, these are my favorite pants because when I wear them I feel connected. Connected to the beautiful women and girls half a world away that are working hard to find their self-worth and create a new life for themselves. And of all the gifts I have received this year, this is the one I am still talking about. Every woman on my list is getting Punjammies this Christmas. If giving is better than receiving, then this is double the blessing because it gives on both ends. And even as the recipient I feel like a giver. The website for the pajamas is www.punjammies.com. We all need ideas, so please share your charitable gift-giving finds with me and my readers by email or Facebook. I would love to hear from you!
“Real Housewife of Western Oklahoma”
_The Daily Elk Citian_08 December 2011,
_The Cordell Beacon_07 December 2011
The Plain Wife by Aimee Jones 
wonderfull blog cristmas is my favorite time of the year. marry cristmas aimee.