Genna Cockerham's Blog
Posted by Genna Cockerham
Shoppers who enjoy choosing last minute gifts and those who haven’t been able to find that special item in stores may be thrilled to learn that hundreds of retailers have free shipping offers on Thursday, Dec. 17.
Free Shipping Online
On Free Shipping Day, merchants provide free shipping coupons and free shipping codes via FreeShippingDay.com. As of Dec. 1, more than 400 retailers had signed up to offer free shipping on purchases for that day.
Buy Shoes, Electronics, Clothing and More
Retailers that sell all kinds of merchandise will be offering to ship items for free with delivery guaranteed by Christmas Eve. Shoppers can buy shoes, clothing, baby items, jewelry, flowers, electronics and much more. Simply use the pull-down menu to locate a specific category or a certain retailer.
Posted by Genna Cockerham
You are out shopping for Christmas gifts but all you see are signs for holiday presents, holiday decorations and other generic holiday terms. The cashier wishes you a happy holiday even when you say “Merry Christmas.” You feel like the stores are happy to take your money for Christmas presents and Christmas shopping without any acknowledgement that it is Christmas!
Where is Christmas in the Stores?
Focus on the Family has created a website that allows shoppers to provided feedback for how Christmas friendly retailers are this year. Stand for Christmas enables shoppers to express their frustration about things like Old Navy’s ad campaign that says, “Happy Solstice” or Wal-Mart’s recommendation that cashiers only say “Happy Holidays.” Situations like these might warrant a Christmas neutral or Christmas offensive rating.
Christmas Friendly Retailers
Stand for Christmas also provides an outlet for shoppers to leave feedback for stores they find Christmas friendly. Retailers whose decorations say, “Merry Christmas,” have displays that include nativities or who sell products that help keep Christ in Christmas rate highly.
Share Your Thoughts on Christmas with Retailers
Stand for Christmas is a useful tool for shoppers who want to choose retailers who support Christmas and who are sensitive to Christians who want to see Christ and Christmas as part of the decorations and marketing that retailers use. But the website offers something more.
“Our interactive system compiles shoppers’ ratings of retailers, posts consumer comments and sends your message automatically to the retailer’s inbox,” according to a mass email from Tom Minnery, senior vice president of government and public policy for Focus on the Family. Not only can shoppers have a voice, they can rest assured that they are being heard.
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Posted by Genna Cockerham
Most teachers prefer gift cards or homemade crafts as Christmas gifts. That’s what I read in a magazine recently.
The problem I find with giving gift cards is that I don’t want to look cheap but I don’t want to break the bank on teacher gifts either. There are a few places where a $10 gift card can equal a nice gift – like Starbucks or iTunes – but you can’t get a full meal for that kind of money at most restaurants.
Gift Ideas for Appreciation Gifts
This year my three kids have five classroom teachers, one speech teacher and four religious education teachers. We’d like to give an appreciation gift to each one at the holidays but at $10 each, that’s $100 just on the teachers.
I’ve done the coffee-cup-filled-with-candy gifts before but this year I wanted something different from everyone else. I chose gifts that benefit breast cancer research and bulk items that could be separated out into individual gifts. That’s why I wrote Teacher Thank You Gifts. I hope you find my gift ideas useful.
Gift Ideas for Religious Education Teachers
Appreciation gifts for religious education teachers, Sunday school teachers and the religious education director can also be challenging to choose. In Gift Ideas for Religious Education Teachers I’ve collected ideas for end-of-the-school year gifts that can do double-duty for Christmas gifts as well.
Homemade Gifts and Projects
One fun homemade gift to make for a teacher is a decorative picture frame. These are a great gift because they are unique – no two homemade frames will look alike – and they can be personalized with a picture from the classroom, field trip or project. Craft supplies to make the frames aren’t costly. They can make multiple frames and have supplies left over for other gifts and projects.
Posted by Genna Cockerham
There are a ton of products available this month that help fund breast cancer research by donating a portion of their proceeds to organizations like the Avon Crusade for the Cure, Susan G. Komen for the Cure and Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF).
Products for Breast Cancer Awareness Month
All of the Estée Lauder Companies have special items available this month, so if you love Estée Lauder brands, now is the time to indulge. For example, the Clinique Long Last Glosswear key chain includes three lip colors, sells for $19 and donates $10 from the sale of each to BCRF in October.
Skin Care Beauty Products and Makeup Products
During the remainder of the year, there are companies that have ongoing efforts to fund breast cancer research. To learn more about which cosmetic companies have special items that help fund cancer research, read Makeup Products Help Fund Breast Cancer Research.
Under Armour and Other Workout Clothing Brands
An active lifestyle is one of the ways women can help prevent breast cancer. Get moving and spice up your workout with some new workout clothes. Did you know there are at least three popular brands of athletic clothing that help fund breast cancer research with every purchase from their special collections? Learn which brands are committed to finding a cure for cancer by reading Buy Workout Clothes that Give Back to Charities.
Join the Army of Women
Finding a cure for breast cancer is important, but Dr. Susan Love is committed to help researchers learn what causes breast cancer and what can be done to prevent it. She became frustrated when researchers said they didn’t have enough women who wanted to participate in research trials to help find the cause.
Love knew that women would help if they only knew they were needed. The Love/Avon Army of Women was born and its goal is to recruit 1 million women (and men) who are willing to receive email notifications when breast cancer research trials need volunteers. Take the time to read, Join Dr. Susan Love, Avon and the Army of Women to learn more about how women everywhere can help researchers find the causes of breast cancer.
Posted by Genna Cockerham
This week I’ve been working on a series of articles about a company that uses juice drink pouches to make new products. TerraCycle, Inc. is a leader in upcycling and has several programs for turning trash into treasure.
Recycle Drink Pouches
Instead of throwing about juice drink pouches, parents, schools and organizations can collect drink pouches and send them to TerraCycle for use in new products. To learn more about the program, read Recycle Drink Pouches from Kids’ Lunches.
Starting a School Recycling Program
As the coordinator for a Drink Pouch Brigade pilot program, I’ve been thinking a lot about the logistics, the planning and the pitfalls of running a successful Drink Pouch Brigade. All this thinking has resulted in additional articles. How to Run a Drink Pouch Brigade explains the nitty-gritty details of what is going to make our program work. TerraCycle has found that a higher price for recycled products can make consumers less inclined to buy upcycled products. Similarly, I expect that the more stink, trouble and mess the used drink pouches create the less supportive parents, teachers and administrators will be of the school recycling program. An organized system is key.
Teach Kids to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle
To me, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to rely on posters to get the word out about a new school recycling program. There are many other ways to involve the children in the school in advertising the Drink Pouch Brigade. How to Publicize a School Recycling Program discusses alternatives that reduce paper waste while using the existing means of communicating between parents and schools.
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