Mindful Shopping: Incorporating American Made Criteria into Gift Giving

By Trish Holder

I have a very special wedding gift to buy for a very special niece and her husband-to-be.   Like her aunt, my niece is a North Carolina gal through and through but she resides far, far away.  She misses home and home misses her.  So I’ve decided that whatever I give her will be something that reminds her of home.  It will also be something that is made in America--probably right here in North Carolina.

I vowed to myself that I would enjoy, not stress over, the hunt for this all-important gift.  I will appreciate, not mourn, the fact that I have narrowed my choices to something made in America.  I’ve bought enough stuff in my life to know that too many options only complicate the purchase process anyway leading me to over think any decision I make. 

Of course, I want my niece to love whatever I get her but, American made or not, there are no guarantees.  At the very least I want her to appreciate the thought and the love behind the gift and to leave her with something that has enough quality and character that neither she nor whomever she “re-gifts” it to would ever think of tossing it into a landfill.

Out of the Mall, onto the Web

No doubt this search will take me out of the department stores and onto the internet.  There are a couple of places I know I will check out..... Read More.

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