For about ten years now I have received every Christmas a greeting card from a famine relief organization.  The card has a picture of an African family standing beside a farm animal, usually a cow or a goat, and inside are written the words “happy Christmas from Dad”.  His present to me for Christmas is the knowledge that he has spent a significant amount of money to support a family in the third world that otherwise would have been spent to buy me stuff I didn’t need and probably didn’t want.

Whoever thought up the idea deserves a Nobel prize as it is a touch of marketing genius with real world results.  I am hard pressed to think of a better way to celebrate the spirit of Christmas. If you too are inspired to put your holiday dollars to a more altruistic purpose this season, in addition to cows and goats, you might consider opting for the 2011 Monadnock Region Calendar and Nature Almanac, a project of the Peterborough Open Space Committee and edited by Francie Von Mertens.  There are a number of things that recommend it.

Firstly and most importantly, it’s for a good cause.  It’s brimful of useful tips to help you remember those important wildlife dates next year.  You won’t be caught napping when hawk season comes around, and you will impress your friends with your ability to identify those first spring flowers.  I couldn’t find a single important natural event that was left out, and the photographs are both local and beautiful.

Francie is a firm believer in the value of environmental education to help ensure that kids today know how to care for the world tomorrow.  She has served on the boards of many environmental non-profits, the Harris Center and New Hampshire Audubon to name two, and has been generous of time and resources in her support of our local environment.  The calendar is an extension of this philosophy.  In the event that enough are sold to cover production costs, the proceeds will be donated to a local non-profit, but the real purpose of the calendar is to showcase the natural wonder of our local landscape.

Secondly, at $12, it’s priced for the current economy.  Purchase 10 or more and you get a 25% discount.  Thirdly, it’s useful and not as redundant as you might think.  I myself am caught in two worlds, on the one hand embracing the benefits of new technology while on the other lamenting the increasingly frenetic pace of today’s world.  I dispensed with a cellphone about six months ago to help me slow down a little, and devoid of the accoutrements that come with one, am back to using a paper calendar and datebook.

Or you can buy a goat or cow, just as retro as a calendar, though they go for a tad more than $12.  Buy your calendar now at any Toadstool bookstore, Steele’s in Peterborough, or the Harris Center in Hancock.