While I was strolling through the aisles of Michaels a few days ago, buying supplies to wrap presents, I ran across some blank white ceramic bulb ornaments. I got really excited and bought a few, and when I got home I busted out my porcelain paints and painted up some ornaments to give away as presents this year. My favorite is one with a little pig face painted on it with the words “Love Pigs: Don’t Eat Them.”

I can’t decide if I want to hang it on my own Christmas tree for all to see a message of compassion or if I want to give it to friends to show off on their tree. Perhaps I’ll just have to make some more―some to hang on my tree and some to give away to friends to put on their trees.

Happy holidays!

People who buy fur need to know that they’re paying for the torture of millions of rabbits, minks, foxes, and other animals who are beaten, electrocuted, and skinned alive on fur farms. They may think that they look fabulous, but quite frankly, anyone who wears the skins of tortured animals is an asshole.

It’s our job to get the word out that fur is for assholes, and we have just the sticker to do the trick. We’ll leave it up to you where you spread the message, but be creative.

Enter to Win!
We’re giving 20 people the chance to win a fur-free pack containing a button, some leaflets, and the brightly colored sticker you see posted above. To win, post a comment below about your favorite cruelty-free alternatives to fur. Let us know about your favorite animal-friendly winter coat, gloves, or other outerwear.

This contest ends on December 26, 2008, and the winners will be chosen and notified by December 30. You should also be sure to read the contest terms and conditions and PETA’s privacy policy before you comment—you’re acknowledging that you have read and agreed to both by leaving a comment.

This year, give the gift of clean skin and a clean conscience. By making homemade bath goodies, you can add your own twist to products and ensure cruelty-free cleanliness for all your loved ones; a basket filled with soothing goodies is enough to make anyone’s holidays bright.

Bath salts are easy to make and can be packaged beautifully when placed in a small corked glass jar or bottle (easy to find at Pier One or Michael’s). To make bath salts, just take the following ingredients and stir together in a mixing bowl. After the salts are mixed, pour them into the glass jars and cork, and—voilà!—you’re done! The whole process only takes about 10 minutes, so you can knock out a dozen presents in record time.

Homemade Bath Salts
1 cup Epsom salts
¼ cup sea salt
3 Tbsp. baking soda
3 drops essential oil in a fragrance of your choice

“Bath bombs” are also easy and quick to make. All you need is 1/3 cup citric acid, 2/3 cup baking soda, a few drops of essential oil, and a small amount of witch hazel in a spray bottle. Mix the citric acid, baking soda, and essential oil in a bowl, and spray a small amount of witch hazel into the mixture until it starts to clump together (don’t use too much witch hazel, though, as your mixture will start to fizz). Firmly pack the mixture into molds (a mini–cupcake tin works well) and leave overnight to dry. Once the “bombs” are dry, put a few into a small cellophane bag and tie with a pretty ribbon.

If you have the time and patience to make your own handmade soap, you can add that to your gift set, but beware that making handmade cold-process soap is not for the faint of heart—it’s easy to botch, the set-up costs a pretty penny, and the process is time-consuming. However, if you want to give it a try, I recommend The Natural Soap Book as a good starting point. The Sun Feather Natural Soap Company is a great place online to get supplies for cold-process soaps and is a cruelty-free company. If you want the benefits of handmade soap but don’t have the time or resources to dedicate to making your own, the Hibiscus City Soap Co. has great handmade soaps, or check out CaringConsumer.com for a long list of cruelty-free vegan soaps.

In my bath baskets, I always include handmade soap, bath salts, and fizzy “bath bombs.” Sometimes I’ll add in scented lotion, or knit up a cotton washcloth to go with it. My favorite way to package everything together is to place some crinkle or tissue paper in a “Chinese takeout” gift box, which, to me, is just kind of a fun and funky way to present all your handmade gifts.

A delicious vegetarian feast!

A few years ago, my mom came to visit me, and while hanging out one night, she asked me what I wanted for Christmas. I didn’t really want anything, but I did want my mom—who was suffering from acid reflux problems and high cholesterol—to be healthier. I told her that for my Christmas present, all I wanted was for her to watch two PETA videos, “Meet Your Meat” and “Chew on This,” and to try out a vegan diet for the week that she was spending with me. She reluctantly agreed and watched both videos. To my surprise, she went vegan on the spot! Flash forward four years, and she is still going strong. She is 15 pounds lighter and no longer suffers from acid reflux or high cholesterol.

For my mom, she just needed a little incentive to try out a vegan diet. If you’re hoping your family will try vegetarian food, the holidays might just be the perfect time to bring it up. When your family asks you what you want this year, why not ask them for a vegan holiday meal? If you’re feeling ambitious, you may even want to offer to cook the holiday meal as your gift to them if they purchase the ingredients—the ultimate gift exchange!

Celebrations without suffering make family gatherings all the more meaningful—and can save both animal and human lives. You may be surprised at how things turn out!

For inspiration, check out our vegetarian holiday recipes and tips for talking to friends and family about being vegetarian.

A PETA anti-fur demonstration

I like making people feel comfortable and am the sort of person who will wake up at 6 a.m. to cook a surprise breakfast for a friend despite the fact that I don’t like waking up early. Doing things to make others feel welcome and comfortable just feels right to me. And confronting people to make them feel uncomfortable is not something that comes naturally to me, but I am an animal rights activist, and sometimes you need to be a voice in defense of those who cannot speak for themselves.

For example, when I see someone standing next to me in line at a coffee shop in a fur coat, I immediately think, “Oh no, I am so not in the mood to talk to anyone, but I must.” I then feel so outraged while staring at their coat that I think I might explode. When I open my mouth to speak, however, it ends up just being a polite, innocent, and quiet, “Excuse me. Is your coat a real fur?” If the wearer actually fesses up and admits that it is, I usually invoke a surprised look that is on the verge of tears and say something like, “Oh no! If it were fake, I was going to tell you just how awesome you were for making such a compassionate choice, but yikes! That’s a lot of little bunnies!”

Depending on the way the conversation goes, I either politely yet firmly mention that the animals who are bred in the fur industry are kept in deplorable conditions and are anally electrocuted and then encourage them to donate their coat to homeless people (who are the only people who have an excuse to use a fur to keep warm, as they are unable to purchase coats for themselves), or if the fur-wearer storms off when I start to explain all of this, I just yell something like, “THERE’S NO EXCUSE!” or “FUR IS DEAD!”

Throughout the winter season, I also keep stickers and leaflets in my coat pockets. Often when on the go and just briefly whisking by someone in a fur, you only have time enough to hand them a leaflet. Do be sure to fold the leaflet so that an image of a skinned animal is not the first thing they see, as they will be unlikely to take it from you. There are plenty of beautiful and warm alternatives to fur.

Search for cruelty-free clothing.

One of my personal holiday gift-giving traditions is to make and give as gifts my own jams and jellies. Making jams and jellies doesn’t require too many materials, you don’t have to be an expert in the kitchen, and you can knock out eight to 12 4-ounce jars of jam at a time.

There are a few supplies other than Mason canning jars that you really need to get before canning high-acid foods (fruit, tomatoes, and pickled goods). The most useful is a water-bath canner (which runs $20 to $30), a wide-mouth funnel, a canning rack, and a jar lifter (many places sell kits, which pretty much include everything you need and run about $50). If you don’t want to buy online, many local hardware stores sell canning supplies.

If you’re making jam or jelly, you need pectin, your fruit of choice, and sugar. I generally use Sure-Jell Certo liquid pectin, and I recommend buying the pectin first―in every package, there’s a huge page of instructions and recipes for all different types of fruit jams. I then buy the fruit and the sugar after I consult the recipes so that I buy enough of it (trust me―you do not want to run out of sugar in the middle of making jam!).

Once you’ve made basic jams a few times, you can start to get creative. Last year, I made a pomegranate–red pepper jelly, and this year I’ve so far made blueberry–red tea jam, mango-rose jam, and strawberry-plum-ginger jam. Making jam and jelly is not nearly as hard as one might think, and your loved ones will be ecstatic when they receive such a thoughtful present.

When giving the gift of jam, I take a couple of different approaches. If I am giving it to people in person, I generally bake a loaf of bread, wrap the jam and the bread in fabric, and place them in a basket. If I’m mailing the presents to friends, I generally buy some tea and a teacup, box them all together, wrap it up, and sent it off.

If you really get into canning foods, I recommend picking up the USDA’s a Complete Guide to Home Canning and Preserving―it is an extremely comprehensive resource, and no one who cans (other than occasionally making jam) should be without it. Happy canning!

Koro hanging out with my great-aunt
Anna in Montenerodomo, Italy,
in 1982, during a short trip there
while we lived in France.

The following post was originally published by Karen on KP’s Dog Blog, December 3, 2007.

There is good news on the horizon for people who must travel or love to travel long distances with their dogs but are justifiably fearful of making them ride in the cargo hold, which up until now has been the only option for all but the tiniest of dogs. A new company, DogTravel Company, LLC, has sprung up to offer this service, beginning in 2008, allowing passengers to purchase tickets for their dogs so that they can sit in the cabin with their guardians.

However, if your dog is a “problem child,” don’t expect him or her to be allowed on the plane. Only well-behaved, temperament-tested dogs who get along well with everyone can go, and they must be able to “hold it” for at least six hours. There are also strict guidelines on grooming, flea and tick treatments, vaccinations, microchips, ID tags, and health certificates. Still, in spite of all the regulations, I’m sure there are many dogs out there who would qualify and greatly benefit from this program. (One nice side note: No shock collars are allowed on these flights.)

Most people seem to be unaware of the hazards of flying dogs in cargo holds, but it really is a treacherous practice. Many dogs and other animals have died of heatstroke, suffocation, and freezing, and others have escaped from their travel crates and the airport and disappeared into the surrounding city. Some of these have been found dead, having been hit by cars, but others have been lost forever. In recent years, airlines have been forced to provide official reports of dead, injured, or lost animals on their flights, which may have improved safety somewhat, but the grim stats still convey a terrible toll. Just in 2007 alone, 29 animals have died, six have been injured, and seven have been lost on U.S. airline flights, according to U.S. Department of Transportation reports.

When I was young and naïve, I put dogs on planes four times. I thank my lucky stars that they survived the flights. I took my first dog, Koro, with me to France, where I taught English during the 1981-1982 school year, and I traveled to Germany and back with both Koro and my second dog, Druzhok, in 1985 and 1986, where I also taught English.

That last flight did take its toll. Back then, veterinarians advised people to tranquilize dogs before putting them on a flight, and my sweet Koro took three days to come out of her chemical-induced fog after arriving back in the U.S. I was terrified that she had sustained brain damage. Nowadays, vets know better—dogs can’t regulate their body temperature as well when they’re tranquilized, so tranquilizers are not recommended. But just think of the ear-piercing engine noise and the frighteningly unfamiliar environment for a lonely dog in a cargo hold! It’s a lose-lose situation either way.

Cargo-hold travel for dogs and other animals really does need to be relegated to the past. DogTravel Company, LLC, is definitely on the right track.

Incidentally, this blog post is dedicated to my beautiful, cosmopolitan Koro, who died 15 years ago (from splenic cancer) at the age of 13.

Animals Don’t Make Good Gifts

Although people who give animals as gifts invariably have good intentions, it is unfair to give an animal to anyone unless you are absolutely certain that the person wants that particular animal as a companion and is willing and able to give the animal a lifetime of proper care.

Animal shelters are filled beyond capacity with homeless animals, many of whom were former “pets” who, for one reason or another, didn’t fit into someone’s lifestyle. Sadly, many people end up turning animals they received as gifts over to an overburdened humane society or animal-control agency that is likely already filled to capacity.

If a family does decide to adopt an animal, every member of the family should go to the local animal shelter together to choose the animal, having already discussed the obligations and long-term commitments involved.

So this year, why not give the gift of a virtual “pet” instead? Try giving a plush Webkinz toy. Each plush toy comes with a code that lets you adopt your “pet” in a Webkinz world. You could also get a virtual “pet” video game for your Nintendo gaming system of choice or other gaming platform.

Read more about why animals do not make good gifts.

Send our “Animals Do Not Make Good Gifts” e-card to help spread the message.

Creative Commons/PlanetGreen

Does the holiday spirit put you in a generous mood? It is a beautiful act of altruism when we can look beyond our own circumstances and help those who are less fortunate—nonhuman animals included. Before you write a check to a charity, make sure that the charity does not fund animal experiments.

It’s a cruel irony that the same financial meltdown that has charitable donations plummeting across the board has also created an unprecedented need in the people and animals who could benefit from those very donations. Every dollar that charities spend on animal research is a dollar that could have been better spent on humane, relevant, effective programs to help people with diseases or disabilities.

Many human health charities—including the March of Dimes and the American Cancer Society—funnel vast resources into animal research in which mice, rats, cats, rabbits, primates, and other animals are killed after they are infected with diseases or surgically maimed. And a leading environmental group, the Natural Resources Defense Council, has called for the most massive animal-testing program in history. But PETA fully supports charities—including the following—that help people and the planet without harming animals:

•Environmental Organizations
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
International Marine Mammal Project of the Earth Island Institute

•Organizations That Feed the Hungry
Food for Life
Fruit Tree Planting Foundation

•Human Health Charities
The Avon Foundation
Easter Seals Society

All animals, including humans, feel pain, fear, sadness, joy, love, and other emotions. Let’s help all animals feel a little joy this holiday season by giving only to charities that help instead of hurt.

Make a donation to help animals today.

PETA Catalog

‘Tis the season for giving! So for the next few posts, I’ll be bringing you some of my favorite holiday gift ideas. I wait all year for the holiday season, but it’s really just because I love giving people presents. I think that old sentiment “It’s the thought that counts” speaks volumes, and in that spirit I’m a big believer in giving in homemade gifts. Not only are homemade gifts more economical, the thought and work put into them are, at the cost of sounding hopelessly corny, truly priceless.

For the dogs and their guardians in your life, I really recommend spending a few dollars and purchasing the bone cookie cutter set from PETACatalog.org. It comes with a great recipe for vegan dog biscuits, so you can whip up some batches of dog treats, wrap them in pretty fabric or tissue paper and ribbon, place them in a small gift bag and voilà! If you’re like me and know lots of people with dogs, you can knock out about a dozen gift bags in about an hour and a half.

So as not to leave cats out of the fun, try making the most awesome cat toy ever. I promise, you’ll be the cat’s meow. And if you know someone with bunnies, just save your old toilet paper tubes and stuff them with alfalfa or timothy hay, as bunnies can never get enough toilet paper tubes or hay.

That’s it for the animals in your life, but check back―soon there will be lots more ideas to come for handmade gifts for humans. Please share your ideas for homemade animal-friendly gifts with us!