Giving donations for charities as gifts isn't really something I've thought about, but it has become increasingly popular here to give away goats, chickens, grandmas and stuff, meaning you "buy" one of those things (there are a bunch of other options), and then the person gets a card saying that a goat/chicken/grandma/latrine/whatever has been donated as their gift or something (some charities give away the actual thing you buy, others use it as a "symbol" for giving money or whatever). It seems to me like there are way more people giving these things away than actually saying they want them. It's sorta like "I couldn't think of anything to give you because you already have everything, so here's a goat." I wouldn't mind buying something like this to someone I knew wanted it or knew was into that kind of stuff, but otherwise, I'd be skeptical. Because I know I'd think it was kinda blah, even though it's probably "wrong" of me to feel that way - but I know I'm not the only one.
Christmas happens once a year, I'm a student living off of a student loan, there are things I want and need that I cannot afford, and getting nice things, even though not everyone buys stuff I need, once a year is nice (well, twice including my birthday, but I don't get a lot of gifts then). I'm already planning on donating to certain charities whenever I get a steady income, and I sometimes donate to charities now (although minimal amounts), and I kinda like deciding who to donate to and not.
I guess I feel like it was a bad move, yes.
