a c la s s a c t
He and Linda decided on a plan.
Every year, starting in October, they
begin collecting brochures, mailers,
pamphlets, and scraps of paper with
handwritten notes, all centered on
charities whose work they admire.
The children are encouraged to
submit their own ideas.
Together as a family, they choose
one of the charities on each of the
eight nights and allot some of the
moneythey would havespenton
gifts to that organization. They
haven’t eliminated the exchange of
gifts, just come to what Gil calls a
“happy medium.”
“Let’s face it,” he says, “there’s a
certain joy in receiving and we didn’t
want to take that away from the kids,
but we also wanted them to understand
that we’re very lucky to be living in
the era we are. It has made them
more aware that there are others in
great need, not only in the world but
sometimes even a half block away.”
Longtime college friends
start the holidays in style
The week after Thanksgivingfinds most
women beginningtheir preparations forthe
approaching Christmas holidays. There’s
shopping to do, a house to ready for far-flung
family visitors, and countless othertasks.
You won’t find Laurie Bergman of St. Louis
among those bustling women, at least for one
day. Because on that day, always on the
weekend following Thanksgiving, Laurie
gathers with sixdearfriends,all of whom went
to college together in the mid-
1980
s, in a
tradition that now spans a quarter century.
“It’s our entrée into the holidays,” she says.
“If you go into the season sharing with good
friends, laughing, talking, and telling stories
and catching up,you can’t help but feel so
much more in the spirit of the season.”
Two regular activities make the reunion
particularly meaningful to the group. First,
they choose a charitable cause and spend
some of the day working on a related project.
Last year, the college pals collected new
health and beauty items, packaged them up
and gift-wrapped them, and donated them to
agroupthat works with developmental^
challenged adults who rarely get such items.
The second activity draws the old friends
even closer together. They have a scrapbook
that documents each of their annual
get-togethers. One person is assigned to hang
onto it forthe upcomingyear and keep it
updated with photos and other memorabilia
from the group. Before they disband after
each get-together, they spend timegoing
through the old images and remembering
how much they have been through together.
“When you leave on that kind of note,you
can seethejoy on everyone’s face and you
think,‘I really love these women,’” says Laurie.
BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS DECEMBER 2009
235
Color Explosion”1
Glow Dome™
Draw, trace, glow, and
animate your drawings
on a three-dimensional
spinning dome.
