Charity Gift Exchange

I love this time of year. People seem to be in better moods, there are lights strung up and even though I complain like it's my second job...I do like to bundle/cuddle up when it gets chilly. I also LOVE to decorate for Christmas. I have a lot of decorations that my Mom used to put up and pulling them out of storage each year is so fun because of the special memories that come with them. 

I've been wanting to host a holiday get together for a while now, but I just didn't know what kind. This year I did a little online research and found something called a Charity Gift Exchange. Here's the explanation:

CHARITY

Another way to contribute to charities could be that each person writes down his/her favorite charity. The slips are exchanged and each person is asked to give a donation to that charity.

This is exactly the way I worked it and some really great charities were put into the bowl. I drew the Denver Rescue Mission but some that others included are; Colorado Beagle Rescue, Heifer International, Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, Blue Star Connection. For me, giving back to my community is really important and I'm lucky enough to have some really fabulous friends who feel the same way! 

Thanks for coming ladies...I had a blast and hope to make this an annual event. Disclaimer - photos are few and far between because while I have many talents, photography or more importantly remembering to take photos is not one of them.

I do really wish that I had taken photos because I was pretty impressed with my spread! Alas, I brought my camera out after things were dug into and/or gone. Oh well, but I will say that everyone on Pinterest would be proud!