If you’re coming here after today’s webinar with Resources4Adoption.com – WELCOME! You can read more about me here, read all my affording adoption posts here, and buy the book here.

November is nearly here so I wanted to focus on what I consider to be the ideal holiday adoption fundraisers.

Amazon.com Associates – Last year between Nov. 1 and Dec. 26th, consumers spent 35.3 BILLION online. Why not cash in on some of that by creating an Amazon.com Associates account and encouraging your friends and family to use it to do their holiday shopping. It’s super easy to set up and this post gives you step-by-step instructions. The Kennedy’s have raised over $1,400 for their adoption due in large part to their early Christmas letter last year that mentioned their Amazon link.

CoupAide.com – Holidays mean two things: gift cards and probably more eating out due to crazy schedules. You can benefit from both of these with CoupAide.com. You set up a fundraising page, your friends and family, pay $20 and receive a $50 gift certificate for restaurant.com. You get $10 for each certificate bought. The really cool thing is that when they go to restaurant.com, of course, they can generally get about double that value in gift certificates for specific restaurants. CoupAide will even work with you to sell offline gift certificates. One successful family has raised over $5,000, partly due to getting friends and family involved in selling offline.

Just Love Coffee – Coffee makes a great gift, especially for teachers, co-workers, pastors, grandparents, etc. People are looking for easy gifts like this. For every 13 oz. bag bought, you receive $5.

Jewelry Sales – Again, people are looking for easy, unique gifts for teachers, co-workers etc. and jewelry is an easy option. Obviously there are several routes to take with this. You could do a Noonday Collection show, host an online Delicate Fortress Collection show,   or the Rebekah Blocher ceramic necklaces.

Of course, if your schedule allows, look into taking on a seasonal job part-time. Many retailers are hiring for the season and you could put away some extra cash, maybe even get an employee discount on some of your Christmas shopping.

Use some creativity and see what else you can come up with. Offer a mom’s shopping day babysitting service on a couple of Saturdays. Get some volunteers and do a gift-wrapping party.

What ideas do you have that would work great around the holidays?

Everyone needs a home away from home, at least at some point in their lives.

This week I get to return to the place that was my second home for nearly ten years – the home of my “Aunt” Lorna in Dallas. (Technically she’s a second cousin but Aunt Lorna just sounds better.)

I remember when I first fell in love with Aunt Lorna. I was an eight-year-old girl navigating her first funeral, the first loss of a grandparent. Lorna was one of many relatives who had flown in for the services. But there was something about her that drew me in. She’s the quintessential Texas lady – sweet, classy, gentle and, well, Southern. I quickly declared her my favorite and I’m pretty sure I followed her around at all the family gatherings.

I remember visiting her beautiful home on a family vacation the summer I was 14. It was one of the highlights of the trip for me.

I’d get to see her every couple years at a family reunion or, as with the pic below, at a cousin’s wedding. (We will not be discussing my fashion or hair choices, thank you very much.)

Fast forward to age 18, and I was attending college in NW Arkansas. That’s a long way from Phoenix, but Dallas was only a six hour drive. That meant that Aunt Lorna’s became my secondary holiday home when going to Phoenix wasn’t feasible. And she welcomed not just me, but Mark as well, even before we were married. I remember one visit where Mark went out running and later called the house. He decided he didn’t want to have to run all the way back and could he have a ride? Of course she obliged and we had a good laugh.

After graduation Mark was stationed in San Antonio which cut our drive to her house by an hour. We spent more than one Thanksgiving with Lorna, her husband John and their extended family.

Four years later we moved to Dallas and lived 20 minutes away. We were finally able to take our turn hosting, inviting them to dinner in our little duplex town home.

They became an even bigger part of our lives those two years, and got to be one of the first visitors to meet Noah when he was born.

Nine months later we moved back to Phoenix. But because I kept working for the same Dallas-based company, I would fly in about once a month and stay with them for a couple of days.

It always felt like coming home.

It’s been a long 11 years, but presenting a workshop this Saturday is giving me the chance to return “home” once again. I can’t wait!

Do you have a home away from home?