Did you take the Handmade Pledge?

I did! See.

But so far, I've elected not to buy anything at all. Mostly out of perfectionistic procrastination. What? You didn't know that procrastinators are really perfectionists?

Well anyway, BuyHandmade.org gives us some good reasons for giving handmade gifts this holiday season. Even NY Times has caught wind of this grassroots movement. Of course, I don't need to be convinced. Last year, in October I bought a box of 40 handmade soaps off Ebay and gave them as Christmas presents. I finally had enough presents to give to people I usually can only afford to give cards to. As I've mentioned before, my family has decided to make a switch from giving each other individual gifts in favor of family-oriented gifts such as museum memberships and things that will afford our family an experience to remember such as play tickets and digital cameras given with the intent to do photography projects together. Of course, the grandparents will give whatever they want to whoever they want and we won't deny them this. For giving to those outside our household, we are working toward making our own gifts, from decoupaged photo frames to homemade pasta and BBQ sauce a la Chef Curtis (no, not from Food Network, from my hubby Curtis). Alternatively, if we find ourselves feeling less than crafty, we will opt to buy handmade or buy a craft so the recipient can make something by hand.

Here are the reasons BuyHandmade.org says to join our club:

Buying Handmade makes for better gift-giving.

The giver of a handmade gift has avoided the parking lots and long lines of the big chain stores in favor of something more meaningful. If the giver has purchased the gift, s/he feels the satisfaction of supporting an artist or crafter directly. The recipient of the handmade gift receives something that is one-of-a-kind, and made with care and attention that can
be seen and touched. It is the result of skill and craftsmanship that is absent in the world of large-scale manufacturing.

Buying handmade is better for people.

The ascendancy of chain store culture and global manufacturing has left us dressing, furnishing, and decorating alike. We are encouraged to be consumers, not producers, of our own culture. Our ties to the local and human sources of our goods have been lost. Buying handmade helps us reconnect.

Buying handmade is better for the environment.

The accumulating environmental effects of mass production are a major cause of global warming and the poisoning of our air, water and soil. Every item you make or purchase from a small-scale independent artist or crafter strikes a small blow to the forces of mass production.

I wholeheartedly agree. I will admit that my heart sinks when I find out a gift-giver speed-shopped through Walmart on Christmas Eve, Birthday Eve, or Anniversary Eve. (For my daughter's last birthday, I registered at Target but because everyone we invited to the party shopped on the day before, the registry didn't show that 3 people bought her the same exact pair of shoes.) I have however worked to look past all this into the hearts of the gift-givers while still encouraging them to come around to my way a bit. I've been using the recent toy recalls as a foot-in-the-door to get my parents and inlaws to consider buying from my favorite children's stores. Nothing like a touch of fear to teach Grandma some new tricks eh?