Instead of stressing themselves out mentally, physically and financially, shopping for Christmas presents this year, if people simply took the money that they would normally spend on gifts and donated it to the Red Cross or Unesco (or whichever charity they choose) the appalling starvation in Africa could end immediately. Instead of presents, friends and family would receive a donation receipt which they could use to lower their taxes, and perhaps a beautiful card explaining the whole idea.

If the average person spends $100 on gifts at Christmas time, then 30 million Canadians acting together would raise $3 Billion for African relief. $6 Billion if the average is $200. US citizens could raise 10 times that amount, enough to eliminate the starvation in Africa completely.

Some of the obvious benefits are:
1) it would send a powerful message to the corporations and the government that people are more than merely unthinking, uncaring, consumer robots
2) it would send a powerful message to the churches that unless spirituality and morality are practiced and executed in our daily lives, then religion is totally useless
3) it would send a powerful message to our friends and families that average people can make a huge difference in this world and that morality is important
4) it would send a powerful reminder to ourselves that Christmas is about LOVE, PEACE and the spiritual JOY of doing the right thing. The gift of love enriches both the giver and receiver.
5) it would set an important example for our children that there is more to life than the empty, fleeting pleasures derived from materialism and consumption (and the ridiculously exaggerated importance of presents)
6) it would set an important example for our children that ACTIONS speak louder than words and that you must LIVE your beliefs, not just talk about them
7) it would save millions of lives and alleviate unimaginable amounts of suffering
8) it would save families from the stress of Christmas shopping and the annual binge of credit-card debt
9) it might restore people's faith in society and each other, and trigger further positive changes that could reshape the world

It's worth a try isn't it?